A Week In My Life

This week has not been a typical week for me, and I'm very happy about that fact. I don't think I'd be able to take too many runs like the last several days. Without going into gory details, I finally got the results of some medical tests that have been going on since February or so, with the news that I probably don't have kidney cancer, although they'll re-look at the situation in a year's time. The lead up to getting that welcome news was a bit nerve-wracking and certainly not something I'd want to go through every week.

Paling in comparison to that health issue was the pool saga. I've mentioned a few of the issues here and on Twitter. Perhaps the low point came around noon on Monday when the newly-installed liner had about an inch or two of water in it, and then our neighbourhood suffered an hour-long power outage. Why would it matter that the hydro went out while our pool was being filled? Well, anyone who's been through this knows that the liner has to be pulled taut against the frame while you put water in or else you run the risk of having wrinkles form in the liner all over the place. To avoid that outcome, you use a compressor to suck the air out between the liner and the foundation. Since it was an electric version that our pool guys were employing, when the power died, so did the compressor. Then we then spent the next several hours (and, to some extent, days) dealing with the ramifications of that. At one point we had at least a dozen big folds in the liner; right now there are only 3 small ones left, all in one area. The jury's still out as to whether we can completely get rid of them but the pool guys are hopeful. On average, we get about one or two power outages a year, it seems; how lovely that we'd get one during the 24-hour period when we really needed the electricity to continue flowing!

While all that fun with the "cement swimming hole" was underway, we've also had a couple of guys here replacing all of the siding on our house and covering some of the last remaining wood locations with vinyl (since I really, really don't like having to paint up high). Obviously when we planned that work we didn't know that the pool liner would need addressing, but of course both bits of work ended up overlapping completely. This meant that we had to try to keep siding debris from getting into the pool area while the liner was going in (or else it'd be trapped underneath and walked on by us and our guests for the next 10 years) as well as watching that it didn't get onto the liner where it might rip it. Thanks to all the rain this week, what was supposed to be less than two weeks' work is now looking like it'll easily fill up three. You might think that I'd be well used to the constant pounding while trying to read or work on Math problems, but you'd be wrong.

And finally, to end on a happier note... I got a hug from my yoga instructor this morning (for the first time) because I told her that one of the positions that I've always experienced a little pain doing during each session has recently become quite comfortable for me. She was thrilled to hear this, and I was happy to have even so minor a breakthrough in a week that's been quite draining.