Timelines and Christians

Well folks, I am officially a Christian.  There is no longer any doubt. All that Bible studying and daily devotionals have paid off --- in spades! 

I see that FB is now doing a "timeline".  I thought I might  share a short timeline of this last year with you, and a few things I have learned along the way.

     By this time last year, I had been blessed with the answer to a prayer - I prayed and prayed for God to provide me with the man he had chosen as my lifelong mate.  This is where I learned to BE SPECIFIC!  I asked for a man who would treat me right - as an equal, not hit or rape me, not steal from me or screw around on me, and most of all, be an ACTIVE Christian God-Fearing man. I forgot a couple things. I should have asked for a man who made more money than I do, and had less issues! 

     So God provided that wonderful caring, loving, broke - financially and physically as well as emotionally man.  Love him lots - no kidding, but could actually do with a little more cash and a little less drama. I am trying to remember why I asked for a man in the first place! 

June, 2011: We moved into a mobile that was akin to a U2 submarine - you know the type - small mobile home with too many rooms for the square footage of the trailer, making each room the size of a walk-in closet.  But the views were awesome!!

     Shortly after moving in we had the pleasure of meeting several of the locals.  A good portion of the EMS team to be SPECIFIC  I had an argument with a sofa leg and lost.  Broke my baby toe in 2 places and dislocated it. It stuck right out there at a 90 degree angle from my foot. Three months in a cast and on crutches and now I can predict the weather.

     Time went on, we got broker, and happier, and the views were awesome.

November, 2011:  Then came winter - and yes it DOES snow in northern Arizona.  In fact, if you live in the mobile we lived in, it snowed in the house. You could see daylight around the closed front and back doors.  the wind blew through the windows like they were made of netting.  This is when we discovered there was no heat.  There was a heater.  And it worked.  I learned here that when renting a place you plan to actually live in BE SPECIFIC! when asking questions.  They failed to disclose the fact that at some point in the not so distant past, some kids broke in, found some bags of concrete, mixed it up in the sink and poured it down the sink drains and all the heater vents.  The landlord's concept of how to fix this issue was to put in new sinks and drainpipes, and lay linoleum over the room with the vents - which just happened to be the first 2 vents from the heater. Result: Heater kicks on - blows heat until it hits the first cement  block, which kicks back to the heater and says turn off, it's warm now.  And this all in the space of about 2.5 minutes.  Landlord said run ceramic heaters.  If we turned on a heater in any two rooms at the same time - no matter what room or side of mobile, it blew ALL the breakers in the house.  So we wore winter coats, gloves, boots, hats etc in the house all day.  But hey - no bills for the propane cuz we were not using it ... and the views were awesome!

December, 2011:  While walking through the house, I neglected to pay attention to the location of the vents under the linoleum.  There was one that they had neglected to replace the vent cover on before placing the linoleum down.  I was aware of the "give" in that spot and after finding the cover under the sink realized what had happened and typically avoided stepping on that spot.  Well, this time I missed  on the way to the restroom, barefoot in the middle of the night. I stepped on the vent the wrong way and broke my foot lengthwise from toe to heel in 2 places.  Same foot as the broken toe.  Five months in a cast and crutches.  But the views were awesome.

January, 2012:  Photo of thermometer hanging on bedroom wall.  Temperature reading 33 degrees.  Our eyes were frozen shut.  So much for the awesome views.

February, 2012:  In cast and on crutches, packed up and moved to Paulden into a beautiful double wide mobile on 5 acres with  a great landlord, heat, and no views.  Forgot to ask for SPECIFICS (explanation in July) Result:  higher rent, higher expenses but the heater works awesome!

     I developed some odd kind of rash.  Ultimately head to toe, itched like the devil, tore myself up when I was sleeping every night until I became a walking scab with dripping blood - too bad it wasn't October and Halloween - wouldn't need a costume.  And the heater works awesome!

June, 2012:  Getting toasty.  Landlord had promised to install A/C by the end of April when we moved in.  Somehow we got bumped as they acquired new properties needing renovation. So now we will get A/C by the end of this month.  Do you have any clue what 100+ does to a tin encased mobile home?  Do you have any idea what sweat does to open, bleeding, head to toe lesions???  I do - it causes continuous prayer and a really nasty mood!  Thankfully I was SPECIFIC about that man not being a violent one!

     Got the electric bill and it showed last month's payment as well as another rather large (for us) application of funds While puzzling over this, we  recall that prior to our move to Wilhoit last June,  SigO had not had service with APS, and therefore had to put down a sizable chunk of change - roughly that which was applied if we recollect correctly - as a deposit.

So we deduce that they have returned the deposit the promised one year after prompt payments.  Our place is all electric and typically the bill runs around $100 - $150. So we had a credit balance. Yippee!!!!!

     Rash is finally diagnosed.  PCP gives up with the miscellaneous must be this must be that trial and error routine and sends me to a dermatologist who takes biopsies of the lesions and sends them to a special lab.  Along with the biopsies he takes $40 from my pocket once a week for about 2 months. Diagnosis:  "a rather rare skin condition referred to as DH".  Here's some cream, here's some meds, use this really really expensive soap whenever you wash up or shower and really really expensive lotion a minimum of 8 times per day.   

      The cooling system consists of opening all the windows and letting the wind blow hot air through the house.  Result:  Toasty.  Now we are broke but we saved money cuz the heat helps - we just stick the packages of hot dogs on the window sills and in half an hour or so, voila! MRE's!!! (Meals Ready to Eat - military thing)  And I am quite certain, however somewhat reluctant to test this theory, that the heater works great.

July, 2012:  Landlord puts in A/C - woo hoo!!!!!  Knowing we cannot afford to use it  between my derm bills and meds and the increase in electricity it will cause, but also knowing we have a credit on our electric bill, we opt to run it for a few days during the hottest part of the afternoon.  I would just like to say here that I LOVE A/C!!!

     My SigO does not care for music (or maybe it's just the kind of music I listen too, as well as the volume I choose to listen to it!) and I love music.  To avoid aggravating him, up until now, I have been using my MP3 player.  Last week (before the installation of the A/C) we had an especially hot day.  It melted the innards of my MP3 player.  Now I have no music.  But we STILL have a credit balance on the electric bill and I am sure the A/C works great!

     Next door neighbors are moving to California.  They are getting rid of everything and starting over when they get there.  We have no furniture and sleep on a mattress on the floor.  They give us a couch and loveseat, and beautiful, albeit beaten and dog chewed, dresser with mirror and 2 nightstands.  This is when the "pestilence" predicted in the Bible come into play.  The furniture was free - we had to pay extra for the bed bugs. 

     Bed bugs.  I thought that was just a saying - you know - sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite?!  Well they do.  Interestingly, each bedbug bites in a series of 3 bites next to each other.  Breakfast, lunch, dinner.  They also like to hide in and under things until they get hungry.  Like pillow cases. Or wall seams.  Or electric sockets where they can spread throughout the entire house. 

      The exterminators say there is only one way to really get rid of them - they come in and raise the temperature in your home to 165 degrees and maintain it for 4 hours. Bingo, no more bed bugs.  You also have some MRE's -- like the huge boiled goldfish in the fish tank, and the roast parrot with baked cockatiel appetizer.  And anything capable of melting has.  That will be $2500 (yes - you read it right and I wrote it correctly - no typos here - just to clarify, they want Two Thousand Five Hundred Dollars for this service.) please.  There has got to be another option.

      Why YES! says he!! It is , however, very labor intensive.  We come to your house with chemicals (that will kill everything, including your fish, birds, cat, dogs, and you if you don't wear a gas mask for the first 48 hours) and do your entire house.  Then we come back 10 days later and repeat the procedure.  And again 10 days after that.  Cost? $800 PER VISIT!  Obviously more research is necessary!!!

     And so I begin.  I now have DH lesions  AND  breakfast, lunch, dinner bites - and as my skin is very damaged at this point, they REALLY like me since it does not take a lot of effort on their part to puncture the skin. 

     Remember - I am a Christian - we are SUPPOSED to be persecuted!!!  And God does not give you more than you can handle.  He sure has a lot more faith in me than I do.  I think he has me confused with someone else..... Like maybe from His eye-view I look a little like Job and He and the Devil are playing their little test my resistance and my devotion game.  And just to level the playing field I, having used it a few times this month knowing there is a credit balance on the account, KNOW the A/C works great!

August, 2012: 

By August I am no longer looking like the Scab that ate New York, it is over 100 degrees out, but really with the fairly constant 30mph winds it only feels like it is over 100 degrees.  I have become obsessed with the way my damaged skin reacts to things.  Like sand pelting it at 30mph.

     It has now become clear to me that my body has given up on me.  It no longer allows me to relieve myself (either way) very frequently, very much and not at all without severe pain and effort that makes me cry during the execution and causes me to be totally exhausted post-execution. This appears to be accompanied by periodic, unexplained periods of fever.

     One of the toilets is running constantly.  We find the leak in the little hose, and get some special tape and seal the leak.  Voila!!  This causes the little hose to break a little higher above the tape.  Toilet still runs constantly.

     But we still have a credit on our electric bill and in an effort to provide me with some comfort, SigO has been turning the A/C on once in a while for a few hours. (God Bless him!!) And by golly that A/C works awesome!

September, 2011: Doc says my "uterine cavity" has collapsed, my bladder has fallen down into it, and my "rectal tubing" (his words, not mine) has fallen in from the other side, formed a V at the bottom and on top of the "tubing" that goes from my bladder to my urethra.  The pressure there is closing off the path from the bladder, preventing me from urinating, and the V is backing the other up and preventing me from doing that as well.

     He is going to send a referral to Prescott Womens Clinic for surgery to "tie up the bladder, if  the rectal tubing has not been damaged, reposition it, if necropsy has begun remove the damaged section and put it back together, than reposition  it, and reinforce the uterine cavity walls to prevent it from happening again.  Recup time? "Oooooh not long, around 6 to 8 weeks for full recovery" says he.  We will go ahead and do some of the blood work now so you are all set with that.

     Yippee.

     In the interim, I decide to make my plans to prepare the household for my absence and myself for my return with no "bending, twisting, long periods of standing or walking".  SigO learns to feed and handle the birds, fish, and dogs, and is advised to clean litter box daily to prevent doggie consumption of "kitty candy".  I plan to work on things that require sitting, and have my laptop for job searching.  Have several items of clothing that need hand stitching and some crochet items to complete for Christmas gifts.  SigO is warned that I become somewhat cantankerous when prevented from activity and forced to spend extended periods of time in bed or on the couch while my house goes to hell in a handbasket.  Apologies are made and accepted in advance.

     My laptop dies.  That hurts.  Ugh.  Now what will I do during my convalescent period????

     In the past we have always had 2 spare tires for Pokey.  One mounted under the vehicle (I hesitate to refer to something that small as a truck), and one behind the driver's seat with a sheet over it to protect it from the sun.  This one has never been on the ground. Our two back tires are really very tread-free.  Regardless of finances, we are running illegal and need to rectify the situation.  So off goes SigO to have the 2 spare tires put on the back of Pokey. 

     Now, SigO suffers from anxiety issues - totally understandable from a Viet Nam POW - and prefers to predict and be prepared for any and all possible difficulties that may arise.  Me - well, I try not to sweat the small stuff.  I have enough crap on my plate without thinking about what might happen and do the best I can just to get through today and let tomorrow worry about itself - you see, I know that God knows what is going to happen already and nothing I do now will change it.

     So, SigO is now in a constant state of stress as we cannot afford to replace the spare tires and also Pokey needs his oil gasket replaced.  And realistically we need 2 new tires on the front as well, before snow hits.  So he frets and frets and sure enough, Murphy pays a visit.  The tire that has been sitting for 6 years (precisely 1 year past the warranty) behind the driver's seat, begins to separate.  Well now.  Isn't that special.  And the other tire that we had put on the back is illegal as it has almost no tread.  So now we need new tires on the back - immediately.  So off goes SigO to find 2 new tires for Pokey.  Pokey uses a 14" tire.  SigO is informed this is a "dinosaur" tire (well.... he is a 96 Nissy PU), and pretty much nobody stocks them in the tri-city area (tri-city = Prescott, Prescott Valley, Flagstaff).  We finally find 2 and they quote us $120.  However, they charge us $180.  There goes the budget.

     Dishwasher dies.  Runs with no water.  I take it all apart and follow the hose assuming a kink has occurred somewhere - easy fix.  When I remove the kickplate on the dishwasher I discover something has been nesting under it.  So with visions of Hanta Virus running through my head, I remove his little home and dispose of it and sweep out from under there all his little mousie droppings and then scrub up his dried up mousie pee while feelings of anger and jealousy course through my veins that he CAN and I CANNOT do these things!

     Further research reveals that the line is not kinked, that water actually goes all the way to the dishwasher as is proven by the fact that loosening the nut at that point results in a shower I was not planning to take until later that day.  Hence, the problem must be the pump.  Great.  Landlord is not required to provide a working dishwasher, I cannot wash dishes due to the danger of infection of the lesions that have reoccurred on my hands, and SigO cannot do dishes because he cannot stand in a bent position for that long due to back issues caused when he was a POW.

     The doctor calls.  He is concerned because my bloodwork came back and it shows that my liver is failing.  This is probably due to the oral med my derm prescribed for the DH.  Stop taking it immediately.  When they do the surgery, they will examine the liver and determine the extent of the damage.

     The electric company sends us a bill.  They want over $400.  Now.  I call to find out why our bill is so high.  Because another customer paid his bill in June, and transposed 2 numbers on his account number and the funds were applied to our account instead.  And that is our fault how ask I??  Well, ma'am, it is not your fault at all!  My reply of course is : So you make a $400 mistake and I have to pay for it?  Well, says she, first of all we did not make the mistake, the other customer made the mistake (like I am an idiot and do not know full well that when they apply a payment to an account the account holders name comes up on the screen - which they obviously did not verify), but we have to take the funds back and apply them to the correct account. 

     So now I have to see a surgeon ($40),  pay APS for 4 months of electric bills ($400), pay for 2 tires ($200), pay for 2 more tires next month ($200), pay for pokey's gasket ($250), have no MP3 player, no laptop for my planned online job searches, the DH has begun yet again, bedbugs taking full advantage of my paper thin skin, toxins leaching into my body keep me in an aggravatingly constant state of fatigue, stress causing my seizures to override my anti-seizure med several times a day and several more at night,  which cause my muscles to ache like I just finished a marathon.

    But both the heater and the A/C work awesome!!!!

Can anyone say "Baptism By Fire"??????