Brandy and I got back from our latest trip to Crested Butte on Saturday, June 18. We didn’t do a LOT between then and this past weekend, but just a quick recap…
The Dental Work
I have bad teeth. It’s just a part of who I am. Up until very, very recently, I only had 16 (half) of my own teeth left and those were even in poor shape. The decision was made then that I should have them all removed and go with full dentures.
On June 21, I went to the office and had impressions made, then, a week later, I had them all pulled. It was an excruciating procedure. I was in pain for weeks after it was done and the dentures I was given did not fit properly due to the swelling I was encountering. Once the swelling did subside, about two weeks later, I went in and had a soft liner put in them. That helped them fit better, so I was able to eat solid food again. Ever since then, though, I’ve completely lost the enjoyment I’d gotten from eating. Things taste different now, mouth feel is completely butchered thanks to the hard, acrylic palette I have now… it’s just an awful, awful thing.
But, it’s all my own doing. Neglecting the care my teeth needed for so many years and look where it got me.
Anyway, here we are now, just over three weeks later and I’m getting more and more used to them. Eating is easier, but hardly more enjoyable. I will have a couple more trips to the dentist to have the soft liners adjusted before I get my final set of dentures when I hit the six-month mark. I’m not sure how those will be any different. We will see.
The Roof Thing
Two days after I had my teeth pulled, we had a pretty significant wind storm roll through Ottumwa. I was in the basement on a meeting for work, when I heard a tremendous ruckus from upstairs. I thought Brandy was moving something, but it had to have been something HUGE from the noise I heard. I messaged her, asking, “What the hell are you doing up there?!” She responded that a branch had fallen on our house.
“A big fucking one.”
I left my meeting and went up to assess the damage and to start a conversation with our insurance company.
The tree punctured through the roof and cracked the ceiling sheetrock in our spare bedroom.
We called a tree service to come take the tree down. Five hours after the tree fell, it was gone, as was $1,700 out of our bank account. They also tarped over the damage to prevent water from getting in to the attic.
An inspector came out a few days later and found two large holes in the roof itself.
I called a few companies to get the best price we could for a new roof. Brandy wanted to see about getting a red metal roof, so after a few quotes, we settled on a company that was booking out to October, but because we had open holes in the roof, they wanted to try to squeeze us in sooner. They wound up showing up on July 31. Three young kids, one of them Amish.
About 6 hours after they started, they had completely roofed our house AND our garage. We’re super happy with how it turned out. The red roof really stands out as you drive up to our house.
Later that week, I was in conversation with a few people about getting quotes to repair the sheetrock in the bedroom. We settled on another young kid that showed up on this past Sunday and had the cracked portion patched, mudded, and taped in a couple of hours. He will be returning throughout the week to put the finishing touches on it then I will repaint the ceilings, not only in that room, but throughout the rest of the main level of the house.
The Wedding
In mid-July, David got married. He’d asked me to be a groomsman in the ceremony, and I accepted. I left work on July 13 and headed east, stopping in the Peoria area to meet up with a guy I’d worked with, but who’d left a few months prior. We’d kept in touch since his departure and I had asked if he’d want to meet up. He excitedly agreed. We met at a place called Lil Beaver Brewery in Bloomington, IL. We sat and chatted for about an hour and a half before they started closing. We said our good-byes and I continued on my way. It was great finally meeting him, and I look forward to hanging out with him more.
I got it to town at almost 10:00 and headed straight to David’s. I hung out there for about an hour, got to meet his then fiancée, then headed out, getting to my hotel at around 11:00. There were some complications with check-in, but it got handled promptly and I was in the room and asleep just around midnight.
I worked from the hotel room the next day, then, after closing down, went to the wedding rehearsal. We ran through the ceremony, memorized all our steps, which I promptly forgot, then went to the basement of the church for a dinner of lasagna.
I was beat after going to sleep so late, so I was ready to head back to the hotel, but David asked me to go with him to the VFW. I reluctantly agreed, so we headed there where I had about a beer and a half with him, then back to the hotel.
The next morning, David, his best man and I went to Cracker Barrel for breakfast. After we ate, I went back to the hotel, grabbed my suit and headed to the church. We got there just before noon. The groom’s party was sequestered to the basement where we got dressed and just hung out for a couple of hours before the ceremony started. It was a religious ceremony so there was a lot of prayer and they offered communion and such, then, after the vows were exchanged, we all headed to the farm where the reception was. There were lots of pictures to be taken and what-not, then, the bridal party was introduced, we went in, did the things, then ate. Once the open dancing started, I said my good-byes to the bride and groom and headed back to the hotel.
The next day, I made the drive back uneventfully, stopping in Coralville to return my suit before getting home at about 1:30.
That Monday, I drove Brandy to the airport where she flew out to Spokane, WA, for a short, four day site visit.
More House Work
On top of the roof stuff we dealt with, I also started fixing up the corner of my office. I replaced the sump pump outside the corner where we had a slight leak that caused bit of a flood in my office after the spring thaw. After that, I went to Menards and got a few sheets of drywall, some 2×4 studs and other stuff I’d need to get the drywall repaired in my office. I started that on the weekend of July 29 and got the drywall up, mudded and taped. I still need to sand it and put a second coat of mud on it, then finish it off with a third and final coat before priming and painting it. I’m happy to have this in progress and look forward to finishing this room out.
Miscellanea
In between all of that, there was a trip to Coralville to get new tires, a shopping trip to the Coral Ridge Mall, pedicures (and a manicure for Brandy) and lunch; a trip up to a small farmer’s market on the north side of Ottumwa, after which we took a drive around for a bit before landing at the nearby Chinese buffet; and a day working in Des Moines where I finally got to meet my boss after working for her for a year and a half, as well as a handful of co-workers.
On the way back from Des Moines, I stopped in Pella where I met up with Nick, who I also used to work with but who also has since left to go with with Jeff, who I’d met in July.
It was pretty great meeting him and between him, Jeff and other Jeff, we’re hoping to get all four of us together sometime in the future.
Now On to Maquoketa
The next big outing Brandy and I had was a trip to Maquoketa Caves State Park on August 5. I will be posting a trip report and pictures from that soon, then, we’re approaching the last big trip for us for this year, in just over five weeks. More on that to come.
Until then!
-Phil