Post a good thing that happened in your life today

[NYCat]

I love my new physical therapist. She is not going to just teach me exercises that I have to do forever. She will get at the cause. She is beginning with the bad foot and did massage and electrical stimulation (weird) and then taped it. There is a woman there who can work with me on my scoliosis. They want my doctor to prescribe an x-ray of my entire spine. I feel very, very positive about it.

 

Paulette

[Betty LaRue]

1 hour ago, NYCat said:

I love my new physical therapist. She is not going to just teach me exercises that I have to do forever. She will get at the cause. She is beginning with the bad foot and did massage and electrical stimulation (weird) and then taped it. There is a woman there who can work with me on my scoliosis. They want my doctor to prescribe an x-ray of my entire spine. I feel very, very positive about it.

 

Paulette

It’s nice to trust your medical people. I had a very good PT person, to. I’ve gone to her 3 separate times, working for a couple of months or three each time.

Scoliosis is what my surgeon corrected, slong with stenosis. I had only developed it in 2017. There is a chiropractor in Wichita that works with scoliosis patients. I had already scheduled surgery by the time I heard of her. I think I was too far gone by then, anyway.

Yes, E stem feels different. I had it for my whiplash injury and it felt good. Really relaxed the spasms.

Does it tickle your foot? Here’s hoping your foot responds well.

[NYCat]

I liked the electrical tickle. Not like having your foot tickled for laughter. It did feel good. I'm having some mixed feelings about the taping. I can take it off if it really bothers me.

 

Paulette

[sb photos]

My car sailed through its annual MOT yesterday with no issues. I had 2 new front tyres fitted beforehand. Only advisory was a corroded break pipe, will keep an eye on it.

[Allan Bell]

3 hours ago, sb photos said:

My car sailed through its annual MOT yesterday with no issues. I had 2 new front tyres fitted beforehand. Only advisory was a corroded break pipe, will keep an eye on it.

 

Corroded brake pipe on my car would be replaced immediately for safety reasons and system checked for more problems.

 

Allan

 

[Dave Richards]

8 minutes ago, Allan Bell said:

 

Corroded brake pipe on my car would be replaced immediately for safety reasons and system checked for more problems.

 

Allan

 

I would agree. I don't compromise, particularly with brakes, tyres, suspension or steering. Any advisory for those arising from an MOT would be dealt with as a priority.

[Bryan]

We bought our house brand new 35 years ago. It was completed to someone else's spec before we bought it, so there was no opportunity to influence the fixtures and fittings.  As a result we have lived with a hideous pink bathroom suite for all of that time.  But today, it was removed and a start made on refurbishment.  I have a slight pang of guilt taking out perfectly functional equipment (valves and taps have come and gone over the years) to effect a colour change, but we are both very happy to see it go.

 

The new decor will be boringly on trend  white and grey but with a splash of red provided by the window blind, towels and mat.  Happy days. 🙂

Edited October 13, 2022 by Bryan

[spacecadet]

12 hours ago, sb photos said:

My car sailed

I'd be a bit concerned about that. Unless you have all the proper maritime safety equipment. Which I'm sure you do.

Mind the salt corrosion though😉

Edited October 13, 2022 by spacecadet

[Betty LaRue]

13 minutes ago, Bryan said:

We bought our house brand new 35 years ago. It was completed to someone else's spec before we bought it, so there was no opportunity to influence the fixtures and fittings.  As a result we have lived with a hideous pink bathroom suite for all of that time.  But today, it was removed and a start made on refurbishment.  I have a slight pang of guilt taking out perfectly functional equipment (valves and taps have come and gone over the years) to effect a colour change, but we are both very happy to see it go.

 

The new decor will be boringly on trend  white and grey but with a splash of red provided by the window blind, towels and mat.  Happy days. 🙂

The house we had in Oklahoma City suffered with that era’s next set of colors. When we bought it, it had the green built-in oven and stove top. I think the turquoise and pink were popular, (our first ever house had turquoise) the next was the green and gold.  Even refrigerators.
I couldn’t yank the green fixtures in out fast enough and bought a new white drop-in range with oven. Got rid of the harvest gold patterned inlaid linoleum and put down Italian tile.

Like you, everything was still serviceable, but I wanted to feel good about my environment when I walked into my kitchen to cook. Being an artist, I may be more sensitive to color, especially bad color. Who knows. I know bad color feels like a sock in the eye, almost. I’ve been known to physically recoil. It’s good white, black & stainless steel reigns now and has for many years.

The colors I use in my house (walls, furniture and area rugs) now are a pale dove gray, blue, and a soft sage green. But the bathroom fixtures are white.

[Bryan]

9 hours ago, Betty LaRue said:

The house we had in Oklahoma City suffered with that era’s next set of colors. When we bought it, it had the green built-in oven and stove top. I think the turquoise and pink were popular, (our first ever house had turquoise) the next was the green and gold.  Even refrigerators.
I couldn’t yank the green fixtures in out fast enough and bought a new white drop-in range with oven. Got rid of the harvest gold patterned inlaid linoleum and put down Italian tile.

Like you, everything was still serviceable, but I wanted to feel good about my environment when I walked into my kitchen to cook. Being an artist, I may be more sensitive to color, especially bad color. Who knows. I know bad color feels like a sock in the eye, almost. I’ve been known to physically recoil. It’s good white, black & stainless steel reigns now and has for many years.

The colors I use in my house (walls, furniture and area rugs) now are a pale dove gray, blue, and a soft sage green. But the bathroom fixtures are white.

Wow I couldn't live with those vivid colours either ! Neither my wife nor myself can claim any particular ability with regard to home decoration, we had a brief fling with bright colours in our last house, but in this one the walls are boringly finished in monastic white. At one stage both of our sons requested coloured walls in their rooms and we complied, but they rapidly reverted back to white, while their own houses are now also monochrome throughout.

[Allan Bell]

5 hours ago, Bryan said:

Wow I couldn't live with those vivid colours either ! Neither my wife nor myself can claim any particular ability with regard to home decoration, we had a brief fling with bright colours in our last house, but in this one the walls are boringly finished in monastic white. At one stage both of our sons requested coloured walls in their rooms and we complied, but they rapidly reverted back to white, while their own houses are now also monochrome throughout.

 

My bungalow still has the original beige colour paint and I do not intend to change it. Even the kitchen is basically beige and I am certainly not changing that.

 

Allan

 

[Allan Bell]

 

Woke up today.

 

Allan

 

[Betty LaRue]

15 hours ago, Bryan said:

Wow I couldn't live with those vivid colours either ! Neither my wife nor myself can claim any particular ability with regard to home decoration, we had a brief fling with bright colours in our last house, but in this one the walls are boringly finished in monastic white. At one stage both of our sons requested coloured walls in their rooms and we complied, but they rapidly reverted back to white, while their own houses are now also monochrome throughout.

As I said, my walls are a pale gray, but in certain light, there is a faint bluish tint. My kitchen cabinets are a pale sage green, countertops are white quartz. Backsplash 12 inch tiles with a pattern in black and white with a touch of the light sage green. Large gray textured floor tiles in the kitchen/utility. My master bedroom is a pale peach color with a bedspread that has some of the same color. The master bath has the same pale gray as elsewhere, white cabinets and white quartz countertop. The shower is tiled, light shades of the palest tan with a border of medium brown/tan/blue elongated tiles. The floor has a faded, antique looking tile with the medium cocoa brown and blue colors in the pattern.
My upholstered furniture is a royal blue couch, two patterned easy chairs with blue/tan/green on a light background. The recliner is a solid pale gray. The area rug is a patterned pale blue with outlines of the pattern in dark blue. My accent color is pale yellow in the curtains and a small curio cabinet, the yellow picked from the yellow grasses in a large picture over the couch of my own artwork. I have two black wrought iron decorative pieces from a gate I removed from my front walk, about 36 inches tall, 24 wide, mounted on each side of my artwork on the wall over the couch.

The guest bath is large, with a shower/tub combo, blue cabinet with white quartz countertop. The floor is a drop-dead gorgeous multicolor brick, that has green, light blue and soft yellow bricks, with a lot off off-white in them. That floor was my favorite thing I chose.

It all came together slowly after moving here and doing renovations. The first thing was to yank all of the stinky wall-to-wall carpeting and sub-floor that smelled of the accidents (yuk) from the large dog the previous owner had, and have new sub-floor & medium grayed-brown 5 inch wide hardwood floors installed throughout the top floor except for kitchen/utility. I got new kitchen appliances except for the refrigerator. The kitchen had an electric cooking range and I prefer natural gas, so we had gas piped for the new gas cook stove.
I was able to do this from holding back some funds from the sale of our previous home which was paid off. Those funds paid for the overhaul, otherwise I couldn’t have done it. We sold that house for $80,000 more than we paid for it.

Bryan, I do understand where you’re coming from about talent decorating. I couldn’t begin to do the things you have a talent for, and others here on the forum. Actually building things, deep knowledge of gardening, motors, etc.

Apparently I do have a small talent for decorating because many people that have come into this house have asked me the name of the decorator I hired. What a joke, but does feel good. 

[Rebecca Ore]

I'm in Latin America.  Beige is probably illegal and white works with accent colors or is the color of ceramic floor tile.  My second house had violently green walls.  This one has blue and violet rooms and the courtyard walls are light blue with algae streaks.  Photo of the shower in the second house.

[Betty LaRue]

2 minutes ago, Rebecca Ore said:

I'm in Latin America.  Beige is probably illegal and white works with accent colors or is the color of ceramic floor tile.  My second house had violently green walls.  This one has blue and violet rooms and the courtyard walls are light blue with algae streaks.  Photo of the shower in the second house.

Yes, Latin America does use colorful combinations, for sure.

[Bryan]

Today I'm being dragged out of my comfort zone as I have been persuaded to book into a hotel for a few nights in North Yorkshire. I need to crack on with the rebuild of our bathroom, but she has other ideas. Left to myself I'd probably fester at home or with the other old guys at the allotment, but in the interests of marital harmony, I have to travel.

 

This is probably a Good Thing, but it doesn't feel like it. Once out and about with my camera I'll no doubt be happy enough, and I might even discover a pleasant pint to sup on an evening. Onwards and upwards !

 

Did I mention that we are starting to learn sign language? Our youngest granddaughter has hearing problems and we need to be able to communicate with her. We've had a couple of zoom sessions with our younger son's family, the in-laws, and a friendly therapist. I struggle to learn languages, while my wife has a natural ability with them, but I need to show willing in support of our son and daughter-in-law.

Edited October 16, 2022 by Bryan

[Allan Bell]

My sign language is very minimal. I only know three words.

 

One uses a thumb, anther one finger, and the last two fingers.

 

Allan

 

[Dave Richards]

On 15/10/2022 at 19:05, Rebecca Ore said:

I'm in Latin America.  Beige is probably illegal and white works with accent colors or is the color of ceramic floor tile.  My second house had violently green walls.  This one has blue and violet rooms and the courtyard walls are light blue with algae streaks.  Photo of the shower in the second house.

OMG! That shower looks lethal. What voltage are those electrics?

[Rebecca Ore]

33 minutes ago, Dave Richards said:

OMG! That shower looks lethal. What voltage are those electrics?

 

110ish, on a 40 amp circuit of its own, so if I have to clean or replace it, that gets turned off.  My current one can get quite hot, but running more water through it, turning the tap more open, cools it off.  It's basically a dual heating coil that water runs over.  Works well and is way cheaper than a hot water heater.  I've got this one set on low heat.  High heat is for winters where the ground water isn't 68 F.  Never heard of anyone actually dying in one.  220 volts might be more likely to be lethal. 

[spacecadet]

18 minutes ago, Rebecca Ore said:

220 volts might be more likely to be lethal. 

Well 110V is still pretty hefty but you might have a point. Outdoor building sites here (we're 220V) use 110V transformers to run power tools that may be rained on or damaged.

https://www.hse.gov.uk/myth/myth-busting/2015/case355-tools-max-110v.htm

That shower installation does look a bit hairy though.

Edited October 17, 2022 by spacecadet

[Rebecca Ore]

1 hour ago, spacecadet said:

That shower installation does look a bit hairy though.

Edited 1 hour ago by spacecadet

 

The one in the current house was installed by an electrician who installed similar showers in a friend's hotel.  It looks possibly worse.  Having metal sewer drain pipes might be a problem, but they're not metal.  Thing also has (theoretically) a ground wire.

 

In other good news, got the Covid 2nd booster today. 

[Dave Richards]

1 hour ago, Rebecca Ore said:

 

The one in the current house was installed by an electrician who installed similar showers in a friend's hotel.  It looks possibly worse.  Having metal sewer drain pipes might be a problem, but they're not metal.  Thing also has (theoretically) a ground wire.

 

In other good news, got the Covid 2nd booster today. 

Let me know which hotel that is so I can avoid it if I ever visit.

110 volts CAN BE LETHAL.

Any electrician producing work like that in the UK would be jailed. Wires with taped joints hanging out of that junction box on the wall and through the shower arm frighten the c**p out of me.

I think you are in greater danger from that shower than you are from Covid.

[Rebecca Ore]

3 hours ago, Dave Richards said:

Let me know which hotel that is so I can avoid it if I ever visit.

110 volts CAN BE LETHAL.

Any electrician producing work like that in the UK would be jailed. Wires with taped joints hanging out of that junction box on the wall and through the shower arm frighten the c**p out of me.

I think you are in greater danger from that shower than you are from Covid.

 

I should take a photo of the current one.  Almost all Central American hotels have either cold water showers (not that cold) or these kinds except for the very expensive ones like the Las Mercedes across from the airport. 

 

This gets extensively discussed in FB expat forums, but nobody has heard of anyone dying in a shower.  One couple of American women did install 220 volt wiring in their house, and used a higher rated shower for that.  

 

I've been either taking cold water showers or using these kinds since 2010.  That shower came with the house, but had to be replaced with the heating coils burned out.  Hardware stores sell those for the Brazilian made shower heads that most of us use.

 

I do know of people who died of Covid here, one a next door neighbor of a friend (two or three total deaths on her block).  Omicron got people from 29 to mid-40s without known preexisting conditions.  I know two people who caught Covid after flying around on airplanes despite being vaccinated. 

[Betty LaRue]

9 minutes ago, Rebecca Ore said:

 

I should take a photo of the current one.  Almost all Central American hotels have either cold water showers (not that cold) or these kinds except for the very expensive ones like the Las Mercedes across from the airport. 

 

This gets extensively discussed in FB expat forums, but nobody has heard of anyone dying in a shower.  One couple of American women did install 220 volt wiring in their house, and used a higher rated shower for that.  

 

I've been either taking cold water showers or using these kinds since 2010.  That shower came with the house, but had to be replaced with the heating coils burned out.  Hardware stores sell those for the Brazilian made shower heads that most of us use.

 

I do know of people who died of Covid here, one a next door neighbor of a friend (two or three total deaths on her block).  Omicron got people from 29 to mid-40s without known preexisting conditions.  I know two people who caught Covid after flying around on airplanes despite being vaccinated. 

I have 2 family members who got Covid late last winter, a couple of months apart. One was vaccinated, the other wasn’t. The course of the illness was the same for both. The vaccinated one has had it twice, now.
Another family member married couple both vaccinated and boosted went to Europe this spring and both got Covid there. Hard to know if it makes a difference. The ones I personally know who were unvaccinated who got it didn’t get sicker or hospitalized compared to the ones who were vaccinated. Strange. None got long Covid, thank God. A few that had the worse earlier kind, some had Omicron, but none were very sick. Just felt rotten for 3 or 4 days, they said like having flu but with less or no cough. All of these people were in their mid to late 50s-60s.

[Rebecca Ore]

13 hours ago, Betty LaRue said:

Just felt rotten for 3 or 4 days, they said like having flu but with less or no cough. All of these people were in their mid to late 50s-60s.

Omicron killed some people in town between 29 and the 50s.  We had one death on my block from Omicron.  My cardiologist had the earlier version and took off work for quite some time.  I think a certain percentage of people, especially in the US, thought they had it but were never tested.  Two people I know who'd been vaccinated and boosted, but who got Covid  had been flying internationally.  Their cases were mild. 

 

The earlier deaths in Nicaragua were of people with preexisting conditions.  A friend of a friend lost a brother to it early.  Another brother caught it and survived, as did her aunt who refused to allow her workers to wear masks in her store.   The aunt was hospitalized briefly, if I'm remembering correctly, and was on oxygen.  A friend who's a US citizens lost a brother-in-law.

 

One family on my friend's block killed off their grandmother from Covid because the lawyer son had office hours in his house.   The Nicaraguan health folks did very good contact tracing, with two visits in a month to people who might have been exposed.