Updates and Stuff

So much has been going on lately so I apologize for not giving any updates. With my dad, getting a business going and moving into the house...Yes I said it.  =O)....I have been pretty busy.  Ok....so with my dad its just been a worry thing since I got back from Illinois.  They are doing all of the work back in Illinois but I think I worry enough for everyone.  LOL  I'm trying very hard not to worry but its something that is ingrained in me.  LOL  I am very happy to say that he is doing well, tired, but well.  He is undergoing chemo and being tired is a side effect.  He's a very strong and determined man and he is taking it day by day, as are we all.  I am just going to appreciate every day that he is still here.

We are almost completely moved into the house.  YAY!  There are still some things that need to be moved over...maybe less than 5% of what we own...it's very little....a few odds and ends, and there are a few things that still need to be done around here, i.e. towel racks, toilet paper holders, washer and dryer....but they are in process and its certainly nothing that prevents us from moving in...which we did.  I forgot how quiet it is here  So peaceful.  It's really nice to have room again too, even though we have a lot of unpacking to do.

So that's it for now.

Celebrations of a Different Sort

Here it is, July 4th.....3 days from the 1 year anniversary of the fire and our deadline.  Mike is making tremendous progress as he feverishly works hard to make it...and we will probably have an inspection sometime in the near future.  While many are celebrating today with bar-b-ques, family, friends, and fireworks, today, I celebrate the life of a tremendous man but not in the way that you may think. 

You see, 2 weeks ago my father was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.  Pancreatic cancer.  One of THE most aggressive cancers with a low survival rate of only 20%.  It seems a tumor the size of a cupcake was found on his pancreas and it was wrapped around an artery that goes to his heart.  Surgery could not be done to remove the tumor because of its location so they talked about chemo to shrink it away from the artery.  He was to have his first consultation with a specialist this coming Friday to talk about the course of action and when they would begin.  Something else I should mention is that he has a blood disorder, Factor V Leiden Mutation, a disorder that I have as well, one that causes your blood to clot too much.  Several years ago he had a blood clot in his leg and they discovered the disorder and he has been on blood thinners ever since. 

Yesterday, I received a call from my sister that my Dad was doubled over, trembling and was losing consciousness.  He stubbornly did not want to go the hospital but thankfully my sister called 911.  After numerous texts and phone calls from my sister keeping me updated, it was determined that his muffin size tumor had increased in size to the size of a football in 2 weeks time.  A blood vessel in his pancreas had burst causing internal bleeding as the blood thinners were making it so that his blood would not clot. They were going to go in, cauterize the vessel and drain the blood.  This is not uncommon for this type of cancer. 

When Daddy called me to tell me of his cancer I researched.  I knew what we were up against but truthfully, I thought we had a little more time than this.  We all did.  After alot of thought upon looking at his records and test results, it was determined that surgery was not an option as it really would not help him.  At this point, there isn't anything that can be done but wait.  So I sit here, on very little sleep mind you, waiting for more information so I can figure out when we are traveling so I can make the necessary arrangements and as I sit here I have to come to terms with my Daddy dying while my family has to do the same about 800 miles away.  Feeling helpless is a horrible feeling and my family is feeling the same way sitting in the hospital.  It difficult to come to terms with a parents immanent death and the last 2 weeks have been more than difficult with the pinnacle being today when I got the news.  We are slowly coming to terms with it and accepting it and to be honest, I'm glad that it's happening this fast.  I have already told my family this.  With it happening this fast, that is less time for him to suffer.  I've seen what cancer does.  My family is no stranger it.  I've lost 2 Grandfathers, 3 Uncles, a Brother in Law and my Aunt is a breast cancer survivor.  Needless to say, the less he suffers the better.  We all feel this way. 

Today, while I wait for more news, I remember....I remember how I grew up on a Harley and because of Daddy giving me rides I dream of owning my own and riding some day.  I remember how when I was 9 years old I told him and Mom how I loved the sound of a guitar and he bought me a child sized classical guitar that I still have today.  I have been playing ever since then and when he began his interest in guitars we bonded even more when he purchased his beautiful Les Paul and started to learn.  When I adopted Caesar, my mealy amazon, he became entranced with parrots and now they have 4.  He was truly devasted when I lost Caesar and Raeka in the fire last year.  Daddy is an amazing man.  He lost his own father to cancer, he has had his inner demons that he has battled as long as I can remember but he is also the MOST caring man that you would ever want to meet.  He cries when he watches sad movies or even happy ones (I think thats where I get it from - although he always tries to hide it), LOVES spaghetti westerns and John Wayne movies, hates Shit on a Shingle, and was in the Air Force.  He is a great mechanic on cars and planes but frusterated with with current technology of them.  He can not stand to be in a hospital when a loved one is injured or ill and over worries although he wont let it show (again I get this from him).  He is a passionate story teller, would give you the shirt off of his back if you need it and goes above and beyond what a regular person would do.  I have always idealized my Daddy.  I'm 44 years old and yes, I still call him Daddy.  I always will.  So many memories run through my mind and I can literally be here for days and days telling you about him and my heart breaks but I have to let him go.  We will go to Illinois so we can see him again but I will not say goodbye until it is time.  The doctor says that he has 6 months at the most.  I will hold on as much and as tight as possible while knowing the best thing for him is to leave us.

Now I realize that this is an extremely personal subject and only a few people knew about what was going on, and some would say that I shouldn't share something so personal in a blog.  I can't tell you why I didn't share until now, but I do so because as any writer will tell you, writing is cathartic.  There is a certain freedom and release that goes with writing something so personal for others to see.  I have seen this with the few updates that I have written about the status of the house.  Perhaps I should be writing this in a journal for no ones eyes, perhaps not.  I truly do not know.  I do want everyone to know what a fabulous Daddy I have and like most children I will miss him terribly. 

So, yes, today I celebrate a wonderful man whom we are all so lucky to have in our lives and you can bet we will cherish every single moment that we have left with him.  I am proud to say that he is my father. 

Today, Daddy, I salute you.  You are my hero.  I love you so much.

Isn't he handsome?

Deadlines A-loomin!

We are a little less than 3 weeks away and alot of progress has been made.  Mike is really bustin his butt, along with a few of his friends, and I have to say, the house is looking positively awesome!  I have been posting pictures on facebook as we progress so everyone can get an idea of what is going on.  I think it's kind of fun seeing the process, although it's frustrating because it's not an instantaneous transformation.  In a world where we have microwaves and fast food because we crave instant gratification (come on...you have to admit you sit at the microwave and wonder why it's taking so long), we are used to having things alot faster than the time that they took in the past.  Does anyone remember not having a microwave?  I actually do remember that.  I also remember, large transistor radios, no cell phones (instant gratification of speaking to someone before you get home to call them from your rotary phone; voice dial for quicker service).   So yes, I keep expecting it to happen alot faster than what it is.  Oh if I could only be Jeanie or Samantha Stephens and just cross my arms with the head nod or wiggle my nose and BOOM!  Instant gratification.  But alas, I have to watch my honey bust his hump to get it done the manual way.  Being patient is definitely difficult, but seeing the house come together is really fun.

Currently, we have hardwood in the family room, dining room, Tristen's bedroom (formally the magic room), and the living room.  Mike is working on the hardwood in our bedroom so that we can get to the tile in the bathroom and then Megan and Paige's room still need to have flooring to be done.  So definitely almost done with the hardwood.  The laundry room and main bathroom have been tiled and the kitchen has the tile laid, it just needs to be grouted.  Most of the cabinets have been affixed in place except for a couple that we ordered and just came in.

There is still alot to do but it is coming together nicely.  You know how you have an idea in your head of how you think it will look?  Of course it's looking different than I thought it would, because it always does with me, but it's still looking fabulous.

Getting Closer

Here we are 7 weeks from the 1year anniversary of the fire and the house is still unfinished.  While we have come a along way, we still have a lot to do.  In my last blog, I talked about how the insurance company made an error on the check and we had to get it reissued.  After we got that problem solved, we had issues with the first and second mortgage companies having a pissing contest as to who was going to release the funds to us to get the work completed.    By the time all of this was settled, it was mid February, less than 5 months from the 1 year anniversary.  If we were to have a contractor do the work, 5 months is not nearly enough time to completely gut the inside of a house and replace everything from the studs. This is what we were told.  There was no one who would even take the job, so that left Mike to do the work, which is what he wanted to do anyway, but it would have been nice to have options especially since the mortgage company prefers a contractor doing it.  As this point, Mike had no choice but to do the work himself.  We are now in crunch time.  Yes, we have a deadline.  We have to have the house finished by the 1year anniversary or we not only forfeit payment on any supplemental work that is found but we also lose a pretty hefty betterment….and I do mean hefty.  The mortgage company released the first portion of the funds, 1/3 to be exact, in mid February and when those funds were exhausted, required an inspection by an outside party to make sure that the work is getting done.  Now, here’s the kicker….they wanted us to be at least 50% done….with only 1/3 of the money released.  Yeah, mortgage companies are not great mathematicians apparently.  Scary, huh?  What we believe is the issue here is that they figure the sub-contractors get paid a little later.  Still, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to me.  Anyway, the inspector came out and determined that we are in fact, 60% complete.  YAY!  Well sort of.  Unfortunately, the mortgage company, who originally told Mike that checks are released 24 hours after they receive the inspection, decided to change up the rules a bit and now it takes a week.  That’s a week that we really don’t have when we are on this kind of a time frame. So Mike is finishing up what can be finished and because he is spending so much time doing the actual work on the house, very little time is left where the two of us can get together and choose flooring, cabinets, etc.  We were able to choose the hardwood floor together and the paint, and that’s it.  The large items, tile, cabinets, appliances, etc, I had to go out and figure out what I liked and then get Mike’s opinion on them.  Thankfully, I did pretty well and he liked what I picked.  I have to say that I was a little worried about it because I have been finding that our tastes are a bit different and we had to compromise on the hardwood floors.  Thankfully, it worked out.  The thing is, we have to have all of the large items chosen because once that check gets here we have to immediately order them because they take time to get in.  With only 7 weeks to finish, waiting for a check, and the flooring taking 1 week to get in, the cabinets take 2 weeks and then the granite countertops take another week on top of that (after we figure out the cabinets), I’m sure that you can see why I am starting to get panicked.  Mike has done a tremendous job getting this far this fast and if we were to have a general contractor, one that waits for the subs to be finished with other work before coming to our house, then we definitely would not be as far as we are.  Mike has made sure that if a sub contractor can’t come out when we need them, he finds someone else to do the work.  Last night I was shopping for granite, fixtures, and other odds and ends that we really can’t afford to not have picked out at this point.  It’s a good thing we were able to choose the larger items quite quickly because last nights trip was not nearly as positive.  I have to believe that it’s because I haven’t found the perfect fit yet, if I don’t believe that, then I will begin to panic full force and I really don’t want to do that.  I can’t afford to do that.  I do know that it will work out and the house will look fabulous when all is said and done and hopefully we will have the betterment money in our pockets at the end of this journey.