One last ride, then the long one across country

My favorite ride, ran us to the mountains with my daughter and some friends. Then… I ran into a great friend from the past I hadn’t seen in 20-25 years.

Then Kim and I had the house packed up and we drove across country. The movers loaded up the rest and we met them in NC.

Rick is a great friend of mine and one of the few people who can make me laugh to tears.

Sydney had her friend Kassidy come along, and she rode passenger on my bike.

 

The yard make over and sale

 The cost of putting in artificial turf and water smart plants was the best move. It shows well, uses almost no water, and no mowing.

I bought the turf and had my buddy with a construction company do the installation.

Then we put the house up for sale. California has just gotten to Liberal, and too expensive to live in. We are approaching our retirement years, and need a cheaper cost of living. north Carolina is where my sister lives, and My Daughter is in SC, notfar away.

Next, the bathroom

The tub had to be replaced due to rust, (and a hole that developed), which means everything around it had to be ripped out. 

Plumbing, tile, drywall, paint, light fixture, cabinet floor boards, and floor tile.

We re-drywalled the interior walls, and added the Schluter membrane for water proofing. It goes down onto thin-set, and adheres like wall paper. We had to swap out water valves, and new copper. New spouts, and shower head. Removing the old tub ( that is the same size as the studs, means you have to slide it out) we had to tear out drywall beyond the tub, which means we had to patch the base drywall.

We moved an outlet or two, and put in a new tub.   new mirrors, and a new vanity

My good friend John, and my daughter did most of the dirty work. It turned out pretty good!

 

Decision to move time to update

 We have made the decision to move out of California. The cost of living is too high. The real estate, taxes, insurance, registration, gasoline, groceries, you name it.

So, we started making some changes and upgrades.

It started with painting the house. We did this ourselves by cutting in the paint with brushes, then borrowed a power sprayer and Did it ourselves. It turned out great.

This is when the bad got worse for my health. I was experiencing chest pains while working.

I went to a cardiologist, and Had a stress test done. The doctor knew i had Ischemia. 

He ordered a angiogram, and a week before getting it, The insurance company canceled it saying it was not medically necessary. Those bastards!!!

I was so mad, My blood pressure went through the roof, and I wound up in the ER. The rushed me into surgery, and found a 99% blocked LAD Artery. in my chest. They said if I would have had a heart attack, i had a very small chance of survival. 

They put in a stent, and I felt better.... until the put me on medications. I could not keep my head from being dizzy, heart palpitations, tingling in the hands, and short of breath. I took me a few weeks to realize it was the medication.