A tough day while others worked

February 27, 2017

We have two painters here today starting to paint the interior of the house. Everything in every room is stacked in the center of the room and covered in sheets. Chaos reigns!  I managed to remember to take out some clothes for today but my e reader is in my night stand which is wrapped in sheets. Our house was built in 2006 and the interior hasn’t been painted since completion with the exception of two walls in the sitting area. So from the ceiling to the baseboards we are having the place painted. We had hoped for a three day job but if we understood the contractor today one of his guys is out with a bad shoulder. If we can’t get back to our bed tonight we know of one crumby hotel in town where we stayed when the house was being completed.   It will be what it will be. One advantage to living the life Ron and I live is we have learned to go with the flow. Why gnash our teeth over an unavoidable delay?

The other project in progress is exchanging a dying water pump and motor for a newer one on the property. This property used to support a fish farm and much of the original infrastructure is still here. Until recently they had a mushroom growing operation here but when Ae moved out they dismantled it. The pump used to irrigate sounds like it is dying and we offered to replace it. As we were discussing what to get Tumm, a relative, he remembered there was a pump/motor left over from the mushroom operation. So we called someone to switch them out. The pump guy showed up shortly after the painters. It has taken him several trips to town for parts. I had no idea it would be this involved but I am grateful that we can reuse the ‘mushroom’ pump/motor. All done for $9.00 dollars for parts and $12.00 for labor.  Love the prices here.

Last week I got inspired to prune a large flowering scrub near our house main entrance. Unfortunately it had a nest I didn’t see and I got 8-10 rapid fire stings from unseen critters, I assume wasps. The strings were fierce but Ron came to the rescue. We first applied some ice then hydrocortisone cream followed by some Benadryl gel. He carries all these different remedies with him in our travels and I for one am most grateful. The swelling and pain subsided some but I woke up with itching and more pain during the night. A nap cured my lack of sleep the next day. I tried to find wasp/bee spray in the store but could only find spray for mosquitoes. I am not a fan of bad chemical sprays but I think the nest is a real danger for folks coming and going to the house. If someone decided a pick a blossom from the shrub they could get swarmed.

Yesterday we saw a store front in our little village that had a massage sign. It was new so we gave it a try. My massage person was a blind man who has been doing massage for ten years. His wife gave Ron a foot massage and I opted for a Thai massage because they only have one foot massage chair. He was very good but they left the TV on though they did have their young daughter turn down the volume twice. Still it was a distraction. If we decide to return I will request no TV and see what happens. They set up shop four months ago and previously were in Chiang Mai up north.

It is now 2:30 and my body is wondering ‘where is my bed?’ Every afternoon we rest in the bedroom AC, reading the Times on line or answering emails or reading our e readers. Some days I take a nap and my bod would like one today as I didn’t sleep well and we went to bed after midnight and I was awake by 6:00 this morning.

We had our first mishap with the painters. Ron went into the bedroom to see if they needed help moving the bed and discovered they were painting the master bedroom the color selected for the guest bedroom. Crap, another delay but things get lost in translation when you don’t speak the language and even when you do speak the language. I am doubtful about sleeping in our bed tonight but it is 2:40 and I have no idea how late they will work. If we had one room  that was functional I would be happy…who am I kidding? I will be happy no matter what because I lived a charmed and wonderful life!

Later

I couldn’t stand it anymore so walked up to the big house with a pillow and laid down on a bench in the breezeway. For some reason there is ALWAYS a breeze there. After a few minutes Linn discovered me and invited me inside to the bed in Pa Cha An’s room. I gladly accepted as the bench was not comfortable other than the fact I was prone. I couldn’t sleep but I rested for about 30 minutes and it helped.

The painters left at 4:00 or 4:30 and didn’t finish our room. We went out for dinner and then uncovered and cleared our bed so we could sleep in it. Both of us had trouble getting to sleep. We had gone to bed early so that may have been a contributor. Ambien to the rescue and we had a solid night of sleep.