Pain, Water Leaking, Plumbers and Mortgages

This morning the pain situation is bad. My back is hurting. I think it is time for an epidural again. The constant pain level has been climbing and I have had more days like this lately. I would love to clean the leaves out of the pool before my next trip to the pain doc. That way I won’t waste the epidural. Maybe the weather will warm up a little next week and I can get it done.

I wish the plumber would show up. The water line is leaking right before it comes into the house. I should have realized it last month, but I just paid the water bill and didn’t look at the usage graft. I’m praying he doesn’t say that the entire line needs to be replaced because I just can’t afford it. Money just seems to disappear. At least my teeth are paid for. I’ve wondered if it would save some money if we were to dig up the water line. Since we don’t know when the plumber is coming I’m afraid to start digging. The dirt may be holding some of the water back. That may be really silly. If I dig up the water line, may be I can fix it myself. I think this needs some Googling.

Later: Well forget fixing it myself. The polybutylene cannot be repaired. Over time it becomes brittle which is why it is leaking again after being patched 2 months ago. In order to come up with the money to replace the water line, I am refinancing my mortgage and getting cash out. There will be enough money to pay off a couple of other accounts as well. At least my monthly payment will be within $75 of the current payment. I had two plumbers come out to do estimates. I did not enjoy letting one of them down. He was not happy and nothing I could say was going to make it easier. I just wanted off the phone! The work can be completed in a day and without interrupting the service. They will lay a temporary line on the surface so we will be able to access the water while they are working. I felt better about these guys because they bothered to check with the county about the necessary permits and inspections. The loan has been approved. I have to wait for the terms and completion of the paperwork. I don’t know how long it will take. I hope it won’t be long because I hear water running out into my front yard.

I just talked to the loan coordinator and he was delighted that I got all of my information faxed to him so quickly. I should hear from the appraiser on Monday. I hope this just goes quickly.

I'm feeling dizzy right now and I think it is just because I am tired from all of the anxiety over the water leak. I called the original plumber to tell him that he lost out on the replacement job. He didn't seem to be broken up about it, so I think I made the right decision in replacing him.

Lottery Woes

I didn’t win the Megamillions jackpot and it makes me sad. I am happy for the gentleman in Dalton who did win. He can now take care of his mother and daughter and go fishing for the rest of his life. I think that is great. I have such plans made for a big win in the lottery. I would probably faint dead-away if I ever won. I got really light-headed the time that I did win $5,000. I would set up a trust fund for my niece ‘T’ with the provision that she would forfeit everything if she bothered me or was convicted of another felony. I would take care of my Dad, my sister and my brother. My grandnieces and grandnephew would have college funds. Of course my son, daughter-in-law, all of the animals and I would be looking for land to build our dream houses. I would have to have my bathroom built in this house until we were ready to move into our new homes. I would also set up a couple of scholarship funds to help kids like my son get educations. He just did not meet any of the special interest qualifications for the scholarships available. Mine would be for kids of single parents who are no longer able to work and still considered middle-class even though their income barely meets their needs. My son has an art student scholarship he would like to establish with a rather rude name that I am not sure I remember correctly. I think it is the “Big F**king Art Scholarship”.

I am in some real pain this morning although my hands aren’t really bothering me which has not been the case most mornings. I think I over exerted myself yesterday. While waiting for the guys who were installing a new filter on the pool, I ran the robot vacuums around in four rooms. It should not be any work for me, but I stop them periodically to empty the dirt and clean the brushes. With all of these dogs, I have to do it frequently. I had planned to clean the patio, but it was just too much for me. I left the lawn blower in the kitchen so my son can do it this weekend. I was also going to clean out the bird cages, but my daughter-in-law said she would do it. I’m not sure when she will get the chance. They are making her work over 7 days without a break.

My daughter-in-law went with me on my daily walk with my dog. She was brave enough to take Hamburger, Penny and Winston all at the same time. I had a hard time walking Raina and Penny on Sunday. I was in charge of poop cleanup. Luckily only two of the dogs felt the need. When we got back home, my DIL took the dogs down to the creek. It was a little difficult for me to get to the creek, but I went anyway. I’m glad I did. Raina went into the water and had a little swim. Winston loves the water and went in too. I just hope Raina doesn’t expect a swim every time we go for a walk.

I Can't Seem to "Bury" My Sister

I am the executor of my sister’s estate. The bills were paid and the rest distributed a while ago. I have kept things going in case I was able to sue the doctor who performed ‘Z’s 2nd gastric bypass. I’ve had one attorney say it would be to tough to get any money and a second has never returned my calls so I am going to close this chapter of my life. The only problem is that it involves the probate court and my niece. I have to petition the court to release me from my duties as the executor. Part of the paperwork requires the signatures of all of ‘Z’s heirs. Even though she was disinherited, my niece is considered an heir.


I hate asking her for anything. She never responded when she was given notice of probate by the court. Things went through because her lack of response was considered to be an affirmative response. Those times the notices were sent by the court. This time, I am sending her a form to be signed. I’ve been procrastinating for days. Today I decided to get it over with. I wrote her a short note, included the form, $20 for notary fees and bus fare and a return envelope with postage attached. I just hope she takes care of business and gets the form back to me soon.


My fear is that she will see this as an invitation to contact me. She does not understand that I want her to prove she can be a responsible adult. She thinks that serving 14 months in the county jail and a state prison should be enough. I need to see that she can support herself without leeching off someone else. My sister never stopped supporting ‘T’, so she did not learn how to do it on her own and I’ll be damned if I am going to take over my sister’s role. It would hurt my niece more than it would ever help her.


Well, I had to make one more try at the malpractice attorney. The second one has never returned a phone call so I called them to give them a nudge. I just want them to tell me to forget it or that it may be worth pursuing. I have a picture I took of my sister’s incision on 12/28/2004. It is awful, not only are there open areas along the incision, there are open holes where the surgeon placed drains when he did surgery to clean out the infection and fluid build-up. I need to get rid of these images. They haunt me. I feel like I should have tried to stop her from having that surgery. I felt that the outcome was not going to be good and never told ‘Z’ about my concern. She haunts me and I have to learn to let her go or she will haunt me the rest of my life.