Monday, June 5, 2023

Oh what a ...week or two!*

 Well, Campers, it's been a couple of weeks since I've updated you on my ongoing "retirement" projects.  So...Here goes.

Family Health and Safety 

Miss B and LJW had some good news on multiple fronts over the last few Doctor's Calls.  Weight is slowly going up.  The visit with the Surgeon was a good one.  Miss B is an excellent candidate for the G-Tube (the feeding tube inserted in her tummy rather than down her nose into it).  He also said that the probable cause for her throwing up and thereby not gaining weight was too much food going down for her to digest in one feeding.  Because there's no dial which determines how much to throw up, she wasn't getting enough calories, and because she's not getting enough calories, she wasn't gaining weight.  Less food in more meals with the G-tube should help solve that problem.  


On the breathing front (one of the even more important fronts), Miss B and LJW went to a different pulmonologist for a second opinion on how to get her to progress breathing on her own.  LJW had been slowly reducing the amount of supplemental oxygen she was receiving during the day.  While she did this, she was monitoring the O2 saturation percentage.  If it started going down, she pumped up the O2 supply for the rest of the day.  The first Doc wasn't happy with the process even though Miss B was down to 1/8 supplemental O2 for a few hours from 1/2 supplemental all 24.  Hence the second Doc. 

When LJW told the second Doc about what she was doing, she asked why she hadn't been doing that after the first month or two.  I'm not a Doctor, nor have I played one on TV, but that's been my question (kept in my head solely), for a while.  In any case, Miss B has a new Pulmonologist with the added benefit that she is quite a bit closer to us than the other.  Less time in the car commuting to appointments.

Win/Win.

In addition, not having to carry around O2, periods of no supplemental O2 opens up other life-enhancing opportunities. Like:

 


Taking the big stroller out for a walk with the two of them.  Much MO' bettah.  (Beans, it handles the gravel road better than the combo car seat/stroller they otherwise have.)

This progress is a big deal because in addition to the importance of the relationship between breathing and living, the primary holdup in reuniting LJW and Miss B with Little Juvat is the breathing issue.  So, lotta praying going on at Rancho Juvat.

College Station Doings

Over the past 14 days, I've been to College Station 3 times.  2 with Mrs. J.  Once flying solo.  (Yes, Beans, it's a wonder She approved it)

In ANY case...And as reported a few weeks ago, MBD and The Rev have purchased a house and are in the process of renovating it.  As I'm sure many of you know, being inveterate fixer upper show viewers, it's not what you see that's the problem, it's what's UNDER what you see that's going to be expensive.

That is becoming the case.  It's also apparent, based on several key indicators, that the house's previous role in life was as a rental to college students.  So, a lot of time discussing things with the contractors.  My role in this?

Not as much as I feared, thankfully.  MBD is pretty savvy and way tough.  I just tag along with my best "You better deal with her because you REALLY don't want to deal with me!" look.

Fortunately, no one's called my bluff.  

Oh yeah...I also am in charge of carrying things, painting things, visiting Lowes and picking up things we forgot.  I think that particular title is GoFer!  I've had lots of practice at that.  

As to Painting, when last we spoke, the kitchen looked like this.

The cutting in phase partially completed.

When I returned for the solo trip and walked in, the kitchen looked like this.


Report from the time of writing this is that the lowers are finished.  The doors have been removed and spraying the insides is in progress.  I've asked for a picture, but for some reason The Rev is somewhat busy on Sunday.

But, while he was doing that, MBD and I were adding a bit of interest to the boring walls in the master bedroom.



If you just imaging what that wall looked like with out the molding design on the wall...Mrs. J and I have been requested back sometime next week to begin work on this.


MBD doesn't like the molding around the sides and tops and wants an arch across each of the three columns.  As one might notice, the bookshelves are wider than tall, so some kind of a ellipsis will be needed to make it look right.  We're going to attach a bit wider molding on the two interior braces so it will match the outsides.  Still trying to figure out how to cut it smoothly.  A router probably, but how to control it is being researched.  Suggestions from our brilliant readers would be much appreciated.

Projects at Home

As to the project for my good friend's retirement, it's coming along quite nicely.  The writing implements are finished and in safe storage.

Pencil's on the left, pen on the right.

The latest lesson learned on turning, was that the finish also has thickness.  Both were turned all the way down to the bushings.  The pencil, which I did first, I applied 10 coats of CA glue as the finish.  You can see that the edge on the tip and the edge on the middle band are a bit further away from the metal than on the pen which only had 2 coats of CA glue applied.  The finish on both is about the same glossiness, so...Another important lesson learned.

Next part of the progress is to make the pen & pencil case for them.  Learning from the finish lesson, I decided I'd try turning some of that wood in a separate project. Earlier, I'd made a pen using Olivewood and made a fatal mistake doing that.  So, I'd given it to Mrs. J who likes it very much, but  there was no where to put it.  I've also never worked with Bloodwood before, so I wanted to see how it looked after being worked.  Win/Win,  I made Mrs. J a pen holder and used Bloodwood in it.


Thought it turned out pretty well.

While in College Station, the juvat family's "Birthday Week started.  1, 2 & 6 June are all Birthdays.  MBD & Little Juvat are the 1 &2.  Some Old Fart is the other.  However, this year had a little extra "Specialness" to it, as Little J is in Hong Kong.

 

We decided to celebrate by taking MBD and gang to a Tapas restaurant they'd always wanted to try.  As we were talking, I realized that Hong Kong is 13 hours ahead and that while it was the 1st here, it was the 2nd there.  Gave him a call and wished him a Happy Birthday.  Suffice it to say, it's a good thing long distance overseas cell phone rates are what they are (nothing) as it was a good time.

Oh, by the way, their wine selection was extraordinary.

Yes, they had a $400/oz cognac. No, Beans, I didn't try it. It was MBD's birthday and not mine.  Suffice it to say, my palate isn't refined enough for $800 Brandy.

Mrs. J and I RTB'd Saturday, got up and went to Church Sunday then to our usual Sunday Brunch place.  On exiting, we saw this car parked nearby.  I thought the sticker was hilarious.  YMMV


We're headed back to CStat sometime later in the week.  MBD's a hard taskmaster.  That having been said, I love her very much and am having a pretty good time.  But, Ben-Gay is still my friend.

Peace out, Y'all!

* In homage to Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons






32 comments:

  1. Well, progress everywhere. Outdoor exploration via stroller......Muy bueno. 400 bucks for an ounce of cognac? Cue the "nope nope nope" GIF. Pen and pencil look pretty spiffy juvat.

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    1. Nylon,
      Yeah the price tag on that libation caused a few double takes. Maybe after I win the Lottery. Or not.
      Thanks, I'm hoping the box turns out well also.
      Thanks
      juvat

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  2. Shelving Millwork. The three sided grooved millwork doesn't look "right" the contrast between the horizontal and vertical grooves is a tad jarring. (There is a name for that profile, but it escapes me for the moment.)
    Maybe an answer would be to remove all of the existing grooved millwork, replace it with a simple profile, and then the middle two pieces could be a scaled down version of the sides.
    That way you could design a cathedral styled triple arch and have a finished job where all the pieces work together.

    Nice pen work. It is all turning out very well. One good turned pen deserves another. Perhaps your background inspirational song while using the lathe should be "There is a season....."

    As the others said, good news.

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    1. JiP,
      Yeah there's a lot of things wrong with that shelving unit and the moldings on the side are not the least of them. But, MBD had decreed they must go. Therefore... My current conundrum is the shelf to ceiling height is 1' but it's 40" wide. She wants an arch but want to save as much shelf space as possible. So, I'm thinking a portion of a circle in the corners which connects with the arch across the middles. I'm thinking I'll build the "cutout" portion of the arch, refine the edge line, then use it as a template and guide for the router on the actual material for the bookshelf. She does want it as a triple arch as you said. So, I've almost gotta have a template to keep)the three looking the same. But...This will keep me off the streets at night for a while. :-)
      Thanks,
      juvat

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    2. Is that 40 inches in total width or is each section 40 inches? What's the distance from the top of the shelves to the ceiling? How wide do you want the trim? I do CAD for a living and it shouldn't be too hard to figure this out. You should have seen some of the perimeter lighting projects that I've worked on a long time ago.

      Delete
    3. JimC,
      The total width of the bookshelf is 125" Wide outside to outside, 96" tall floor to top of the moulding. The columns are 41 1/2" wide center of column to center of column. All shelves and uprights are 3/4"
      She'd like the arches to terminate at the top of the top shelf on each side of each column, but she'd like to maximize visible storage space as much as possible, so a plain circle isn't exactly what she wants.
      To be honest, I THINK I know what she wants, but... I'm trying to draw a picture myself, but would appreciate the help. My contact info is in the profile section of the blog's right column if you have questions. I appreciate the offer.
      juvat

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    4. JimC,
      I may have a working solution. The AC in my woodshop is fritzing, so I'm in the house cooling back down. Then I'm going to go back and give it a try. Got all the points figured out, just got to draw it now.
      Thanks
      juvat

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  3. So, regarding the wine, did you ask if they had a cask of it? And any entombed Italians? Because that's what came to mind.

    As to the kitchen, why's the refrigerator so.... short? Mo taller means mo stuffs. And renting a dual oven 6 to 8 burner range top to college students? What's up with that?

    As to the O2 stats, yeah, was wondering about that also. But I had the opposite problem the one time Mrs. Andrew was on forced O2, as the doc in charge took her off 100% O2 and wondered why she didn't respond (didn't help that they kept her tranked as she was fighting the intubation.) Seems 'the best pulmonary doc at this hospital' didn't know to balance the blood gasses and do a weaning. So I fired her, loudly, repeatedly, in front of the nurses' station, in the ICU. Something to the effect of "If you get within 10' of my wife, I'll kill her!!!" as I was at that time talking to our family doc who was trying to calm me down. The smiles and nods of the nursing staff told me that I chose... wisely... to take such action.

    With the kid, do they have her on straight slop or is there any baby rice in it? The throwing up may be a reaction to not having enough starchy filler. Or not. Or allergies. Which would suck.

    And Tapas? Not impressed by tiny expensive finger foods. But then again, I don't have a tiny mouth, so...

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    1. Beans,
      I had similar thoughts regarding the brandy.
      As to the fridge. The picture's scale isn't all that good. It's a bit taller than I am. However, I think that will be on the secondary/tertiary "things to buy" list.
      We talked to the "Swallow" doctor (I don't know what the medical specialty is called, but that was what was marked on the appointment calendar). His thought was that she was being fed too much formula at one time and couldn't digest it fast enough. Unfortunately, it stead of taking a little off the top, the whole shebang came out and with it the nutrition and appetite. She seems to be doing a bit better with smaller feedings, more often. We'll see.
      Tapas...I don't disagree with you on that, but the family tradition is the Birthday Person gets to decide what/where their Birthday Dinner is. Mine is usually Steak, Artichoke and Baked Potato at home.
      juvat

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  4. Good news with weaning Miss B off the supplemental O2. Trust the supplemental weaning continues to be successful allowing Little Juvat and family to be together in HK.
    Your CS remodeling project reminded me of having our barndominium built in a very small central Texas town. The crew were all locals and knew all the intel. on inhabitants (long and short residence times). On one of their remodel jobs, a short remodel turned into exchanging Christmas gifts with the owners at the 2nd Christmas on the job. Seems the owners were into “Sinceyou projects”. Translation (Since you are here let’s do “x”). Know you’ll swap Christmas presents with your daughter and the Rev. regardless, but hope there are few “Sinceyou projects” involved.
    Cletus

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    1. Cletus,
      Yeah the new Pulmonolgist is setting an August Goal for off the O2. Hope and pray that's the case. This is hard on a lot of my family members.
      Re: Remodeling. Seems most of the Trades are members of The Rev's Church and/or friends of MBD and He. So...They do look awfully young though. But that may just be me and my Old Fart Eyes. As far as I can tell, they're doing a great job. They're starting to make the transition between tearing things down and installing the hidden stuff. We'll see.
      Sinceyou is a great term and is applied to me quite regularly and not just in College Station. Just sayin'.
      juvat

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  5. Thank you for the good news update on LJD. She's at the top of the "kids in need" prayer list and I'm glad that's working.

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    1. Thanks Tuna, Knew there's a bunch of you folks doing that and it's appreciated and working!
      juvat

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  6. Mechanically speaking, you could work out the distance between two nails, and a loop of cord around them to make the ellipse. We did that with mechanical drawing back in the day. Two different diameter circles basically. by trial an error you can do it on the garage floor with chalk to check the fit, then CAD (cardboard assisted design) half of it to make the curve on a hunk of ply, mdf, or what have you. https://youtu.be/0maahsJQOJE I find this music helps me focus when I'm off script and running by the seat of my pants, like trying to draw accurately on the floor with chalk. https://youtu.be/YyYXvG038dE

    Good news on the pulmonology review. I'm glad they figured out the overflow issue as well. Venting fuel is an expensive proposition.

    When I hired on at Avtech, I told them I knew my way around a toolbox, and I could be a mechanic gofer (helper).
    "Gofer this, gofer that, I wish I was a rabbit."

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    1. STxAR,
      You do know that when I mentioned my friend Joe in my Memorial Day post that the place we worked was AvTech doncha? We were a couple of the first hires, certainly the first lineboys. And yes, that's where I first heard the term.
      Your version of CAD is exactly what I was figuring on using. I even brought the cardboard with me to work with her on the plan. Unfortunately, other more pressing issues arose. Looks like another trip to CStat is in my short range horizon.

      Delete
    2. Yes sir, I remember we are alumni of that great FBO. I was one of the youngest line guys they had. I was fueling Air Mistake when I was just 16. Washed and waxed a lot of aircraft, too. Worst was scrubbing the bugs off the leading edge of the Cessna trainers. A close second was polishing the brass on that crazy bird in their Falcon. Were you there when it fell off the wing jacks? Or when they blew a tire and ate the wing skin and flap?

      Delete
    3. STxAR,
      Nope, it was still in excellent shape when I left. Man was that a cool jet or what? Did my fair share of bug scraping also. All in all, it was a pretty good job.
      Found a good "how to draw an ellipsis" video and am about to go out to the wood shop with some string and try my hand. If you hear a loud stream of bad words coming from Central Texas, well...you'll know the results.
      juvat

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  7. Good news on Miss B and the G-tube. Yes, smaller bites/meals/sips more frequently does result in less up-chucking for sure.
    And that "big girl" stroller is a definite plus...my grandson (who just turned 4 (!!!) today has one and it is awesome!! Goes all sorts of places easily.
    I don't have any tricks for little ones and weaning off O2, only for older folks...but Miss B is kinda small to be using an incentive spirometer just yet, but any game where you can get her to blow out and then deep inhale in would help then whole develop the lung tree--so blowing bubbles around, or candles out, or fingers down, etc...but I think she is just a tad bit young yet...but yes, am keeping her on the prayer list!

    That pen/pencil set is gorgeous!! And that bloodwood cylinder is also!!
    And my only suggestion is to follow what STxAR suggested, that is about my speed of CAD drawing...I can't even visualize what you are saying MBD wants. My talents lay in sanding and painting. Creative I am not!!

    Suz

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    1. Suz,
      All good info. I'm not sure who, but someone associated with Miss B's care told us to teach her to blurp with her lips. Other parts of the country might refer to that as a "Raspberry". On a separate note, Thank you very much for your advice on Caffeine. Stopped all known suppliers. Hurt a bit for a day or two, but all tests in since have come back normal. Got my followup with the Cardiac Doc Thursday. Not expecting many issues, but...Again Thanks.
      I'm not sure what MBD wants, maybe she's not either. As best I can figure, she want's 3 arches across the top of the bookshelf. What those arches are supposed to look like, I don't know. I have high hopes she takes advantage of the large sheet of cardboard in the living room in front of it and sketches something out.
      Again, thanks for your advice.

      Delete
    2. Glad it helps.

      And a belated Happy Birthday to you Sir!!

      Suz

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  8. Glad for the second opinions. And the G-tube will be 'easier' and more controllable. Prayers continue!

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    1. Thanks, Old NFO, we appreciate it.

      Delete
  9. Late to the party, horrific day at the salt mines, makes me wonder why I haven't retired yet, then I see what you're doing in "retirement." Ouch, maybe I'll work a few more years ...

    Good news on Miss B, prayers for continuing improvement until perfect health is achieved!

    $400 cognac!?!?! Mon Dieu, non, non merci!

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    1. Sarge,
      No worries. Your wife is much like my wife. "Idle hands are the devil's playground" is their modus operandi. Idle? I've only got two throttle settings Mil Power and Full Afterburner. But...I sleep well at night.

      So...I got that going for me.

      $400 Cognac. My Friend you underestimate the price. It's $400/oz! Assuming it's a liter bottle (it is French ya know), that's $13,525.61! I can't think of many things I'd spend that much on.

      Thanks for the prayers, they're needed and working.
      juvat

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  10. Thanks for the update Juvat! Good news all around! - TB checking in from Athens

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  11. I wonder how much dinner costs if the after dinner libation is in that price range. Oh well, drinks on me! One sniff all around. That should put us through an ounce once evverbuddy gets their nose in it.

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    1. D4,
      It was expensive, but not outrageous. Mrs. J was on some med that prohibited alcohol, MBD is pregnant and The Rev...well he's got a rep to maintain. So, the one glass of wine I had didn't break the bank, but was quite nice. I wanted to ask them if they ever served that cognac, but realized I probably couldn't stand the answer.
      juvat

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Just be polite... that's all I ask. (For Buck)
Can't be nice, go somewhere else...

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