Chapter Twenty-Two of Facilitate Your User Posted

Happy almost Halloween everyone! Ready for Paul’s User exam? I hope so because this chapter is it!

Today’s picture is of my own personal skeleton crew. My dad cut these out, painted them and surprised me with them a few years ago. Bless his heart, he was so proud of them and excited because he painted them with a type of paint that was supposed to glow in the dark. It sort of did, but not enough that you could really tell. Despite his disappointment about the lack of glow, I really like them and they’ve been a Halloween decor staple for the past few years.

I started repainting the bedrooms in my house yesterday. I wrote in an earlier post that I’m getting new carpet for most of the house and new tile in the foyer. I am actually taking a whole week off work the last week of October and this is when the new flooring is supposed to be going in. I’m trying to repaint the bedrooms before that time. I have learned (the very hard, frustrating and making more work for yourself way) that doing test samples of paint on the wall, while irritating, pays off in the end. Because of that, I have all sorts of colorful (and not so colorful) patches of paint going on in now 2/3 rooms. It was 3/3 but I got the computer/cat room painted yesterday. I have to say, right now, I’m pleased with the color. It is a small room and I went pretty dark, but I like it kind of moody in here. It’s where I write and spend a lot of my time.

I was more than a little afraid of how my body would hold up painting (I’ve got bone spurs in both shoulders) but am happy to say that I’m feeling A-okay this am after yesterday’s marathon room painting. I am hoping that is a good sign for the other two rooms.

I am anxiously awaiting the new flooring going in. Like many other areas of the US, we are having a spike in the number of COVID cases in my area. Friday we had 2 clients call and cancel their appointments because they were ill with a fever. A clinic just a few miles from us has been closed for the last week and a half due to a COVID illness. Currently we are still allowing clients into the building – only two per pet and they must be masked, but I have a feeling that is going to change sometime in the near future and we will be back to only curbside. Selfishly, I hope all the flooring folks stay well and can get my job done. I also hope I can stay well and don’t have to cancel on them.

As a somewhat worrisome aside, one of the clients that canceled is a neighbor of mine and she’s also a nurse. I am always wishing our healthcare workers the very best. My sister is a RN and she works on the critical care floor of one of the major hospital’s in our state capitol. I worry about her as she is diabetic and also a smoker. It is an ongoing battle, trying to keep the mind and body healthy. I’m glad I have a socially distant, safe option for trying to keep my mind occupied – writing. Although, I haven’t been getting as much of that done as I’d like given how busy I’ve been. Hopefully I can get back to it soon.

Until next week, stay sane and remember to vote! Currently I’m planning to do early voting during the week I have off. Fingers crossed that plan doesn’t need to change.

MJ May