As I said earlier, we had intentions to remodel the Gazette. As it turned out, the project was going to be very expensive. We decided to start looking at manufactured homes. We even took a trip down to Oregon and California to check out the factories where they were built. In the meantime, we applied to the Kendrick city council to rezone the lot. Eventually we found a home dealer closer to home, Clearwater Homes in Orofino Idaho, with a house we liked. We put together a plan, took it to the bank, and applied for a construction loan. In late 2016, while our house was being built, I moved everything we had stored in the Gazette to the “White Room”. Then we hired a contractor to tear down the Gazette. He also cleared and surveyed the lot. In February 2017, we applied for a building permit and waited for our house to be delivered. While we were waiting, Clearwater put in the foundation.
They placed the house on the foundation late April or early May 2017. At that point, the finish work slowed down and on some days no one showed up to work on our house. There was either another house to deliver or finish. Mike cornered the contractor one day and told him he wasn’t happy that they were taking so long and wanted someone to be working on the house everyday until completed. In June of 2017 we took possession. Leasing a Bobcat and having five loads of gravel delivered, I finished the yard. I spent a couple of fun filled days on the Bobcat, spreading the gravel all around the house. We had a fence put up in the front and part way down the side. It was looking pretty good when we decorated for the fourth of July 2017. After moving our furniture and belongings from the apartment into the house, I moved everything from the “white room” into the apartment. We rented out the back half of the apartment to Jake.
Life goes on. I lost almost all of 2019, due to being in pain from May through December. It turned out I had a couple of herniated discs. It didn’t stop us completely. In June, we drove to Lacey and picked up our great granddaughter, Jadyn, and drove down to Newcastle, where we picked up our granddaughter, Grace. Then we continued down to Carpinteria. That was really a special time with the girls. In August we drove back to Carpinteria for Jack and Paige’s wedding. What a beautiful wedding on the beach and a fun party afterward. It would have been more fun if my back was better.
After returning to Kendrick, I finally got in to see the doctor in September. They tried Physical Therapy but it didn’t really work. Finally the doctor put me on Prednisone. Oh what a relief it was. Eventually they did an MRI and that’s when they found the two herniated discs. I was sent to a Pain Control doctor who gave me a steroid shot in my back. While this was all happening, I was having problems with my hearing aids. My ear doctor sent me to see an ENT doctor who had an MRI done on my head. There wasn’t anything physical affecting my ear but he saw an anomaly in the roof of my mouth. It was a hole in the bone in to my sinus. He took some specimens from the area and sent them to the lab. They showed I had low-grade cancer. I was referred to an ENT surgeon in Spokane and was scheduled for surgery in January. Along came COVID-19 and surgery has been postponed until May.
And now we’re here. Joyce and I have self-isolated in March and continue on. We’ve gotten out a couple of times to the grocery store, but that’s about all. I’ve been doing some baking, just what we need, and watching TV. I’m turning eighty this year. The kids had planned on celebrating over in Sequim. At this time I suspect it will be canceled. There will be other times to celebrate. I traded the Forester and Buick in on a 2019 Subaru Outback in October. Plans were to do some traveling. We just have to delay for a while. I’ve been thinking about Pop and the frustration he felt with everyone telling him what to do. It’s frustrating to have a body growing old and not being able to do the things you did when you were younger. And that’s not so long ago. The mind doesn’t keep up with the body. I figure I’ve got maybe ten years before I involuntarily have to give up driving. We’ll see. April 2020
