Ship's Blog: March, 2006

Today I had my 10 am appointment with the surgeon at the Breast Care Center. It took a while for them to find the films from yesterday's mammogram, so I had to wait. The only size of gown they have is way too small for me. Yesterday, in radiology, they told me that they ordered larger ones and didn't get them. The tech said, "I don't know, maybe UCSF hasn't paid their bill." Today I sat on the exam table, ineffectually trying to pull the edges together, waiting. They have you put on the gown with the opening in the front and let's just say that makes it look all the more embarrassing. With my breasts scrunched together and my cleavage exposed, I looked like some Renaissance Faire wench with a really bad costume.  Read more »

I was up bright and early to head to the city this morning. Since it took two hours to get into San Francisco last Saturday, Kathy and I made sure to get out the door by 6 am. We needed the time, too. I tell you, I couldn't do that commute everyday.  Read more »

We received an offer on the house last night, just in the nick of time. The deadline for offers was 5 pm, and minutes before, an agent faxed an offer over to our realtor. She called us and then faxed the paperwork over for Kathy to sign. The offer is for a little over our asking price. On paper, it looks like a lot more, because of how they are writing up the offer. They are offering a certain amount over the asking price, then asking that we credit them back the difference so that they have it in case. Whatever; all that matters is that our net price is one we are happy to sell at.  Read more »

I spent most of the day still trying to get through to UCSF for an appointment with a surgeon. They set me up for a mammogram on Thursday at 8 am. An 8 am appointment in San Francisco means I need to leave here at 6 am. UCSF may only be 35 miles away, but that's 35 miles through a tunnel and across the Bay Bridge.

Meanwhile, the breast care center phone system says, "If you're a new patient, press this number... if you have not yet registered, press this number...if you have registered and need an appt, press this number…."

Ack! I don't know if I'm registered! Which button do I press?  Read more »

This morning I was awakened to the telephone. It was just after 7 am, and my doctor was calling. That can never be good.

She said, "I need to see you today. Can you come in at 11:45am?"

It was as though the center of my body assumed more gravity and everything came into sharp focus. I said I assumed it was bad news. She said, "It looks like cancer."  Read more »

This is a story of consumer woe and how determination wins out in the end.

Before Kathy and I moved into our house late last August, I was busy selecting and ordering the fixtures and furnishings that we were going to need. (I talked Kathy into letting me be the designer, but of course she retained signing authority.)

One item we purchased was an extravagance: a large pendant lamp for our dining room (which we decided to style as a lounge). It had that hint of Art Deco that we wanted, the smooth polished nickel, and in short, it was gorgeous. I mail ordered it from Litesensation in New Jersey when I couldn't find an affordable source locally.

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Last night, Lola was using my chest as a roadway (I guess she had places to go) when I sneezed. Never sneeze when a cat is standing on you, especially if she has needle-like claws. Startled, Lola launched off my breast, getting plenty of traction. Traction translates to a lovely, long scratch across the pointy bit of my breast.

As I clutched my breast in pain, what did I yell? "Ow"? "That hurt"? No, I yelled, "Omigod, Lola, what are you doing? I have to show that breast to the doctor tomorrow!" Yes, indeed...my first thought was about what people will think.  Read more »

Kathy called me to tell me that, while in Phoenix, she stopped in an Indian Casino (you know, next to Target) and dropped some coins in a slot machine. She ended up winning exactly enough money to pay for her trip. Cool, eh?

I'm convinced that casual gambling would never go so well for me. It's not that I don't have a sense for things—I do. It's just sometimes I can be a few millimeters off. When I drove Kathy to the airport yesterday morning, I was making some joke about her flight and in the process referred to it being at gate 47. I made that up. She called me later to tell me that her flight was out of gate 74.

This means that if I am psychic, I'm dyslexic psychic. Dyslexia would be most unfortunate when gambling. Can't you just see?

"I win! Yay me!"  Read more »

Today's the first day of Kathy's four-week sabbatical. She's off to Scottsdale this morning for spring training with the San Francisco Giants. I was supposed to go with her, only Tilly hasn't been eating as much as she should and I don't feel comfortable leaving her right now. It's a short trip and Tilly might have been fine, but I would have worried the entire time. Besides, if anything comes up with the house, it's good to have one of us here. This raises the question of who has the most separation anxiety—Tilly, or me?  Read more »

Today was open house day—the culmination of six weeks of hard work. Kathy and I went over to the house beforehand to make sure everything was in order and to start the fire on the wood pellet stove. While it has been raining nonstop lately, today was clear and sunny, though chilly, and the house showed well.  Read more »

There are a lot of approaches you can take to fixing up a house for sale. It always makes sense to focus on what upgrades will make the biggest difference in the bottom line, and of course Kathy and I have considered that. But what really guides us is that we are creating a home for someone, likely their first house, and we want it to be a good one.

Maybe that's why so many people who have seen the house (neighbors and people working on it) have gushed enthusiastically about how charming and warm it is. I don't think that's just about the paint colors or the new appliances – it's also about the spirit with which we try to infuse everything. We want the new owners to love their home.  Read more »

How hard is it to show up when you say you will, to meet someone who is going to pay you money? How hard is it to tell a client that you're sorry you made a mistake? And just how hard is it to clean an empty house? These are the questions I have been pondering this week.

On Monday, I made arrangements to have housecleaners meet me at the house early Tuesday morning. The week before, I had scheduled to meet the heater repair guy the same day. So, on Tuesday, I drove the 25 miles in rush hour traffic to get to the house (which was freezing cold, thus the need for heater repair) and waited. And waited. And made some phone calls. And waited.  Read more »

I was reflecting recently with our realtor on life as a busy person. As naturally organized, efficient people, we're often living in our heads. Our desire to "get the job done" enables us to tune out lots of things that seem in-essential. Just last weekend, while shopping at Lowe's, Kathy commented on how my foot must be hurting, because I was limping. I had totally forgotten about the pain radiating from my ankle! It wasn't until she said that, that I checked in with my body and realized, oh, yes, I do still hurt. I was so focused on trying to find the right replacement for the hall light that I stopped noticing!  Read more »

As we countdown to Sunday's open house, the house is packed with people working on this or that. Today's crew included:

• The window washer (wow, those windows never looked getter!)
• The handyman painting the deck in the back
• The handyman working on the kitchen inside
• An oven installer (this oven fits—yay!)
• A landscaper
• The stager
• The realtor

Remarkably, everything stayed under control. I hung around for several hours, doing some work and finishing up plans on paper, mostly so that I would be available for questions.  Read more »

Saturday night, I found a lump in my breast. More accurately, Lola found it. She had climbed onto my chest (cats!) and was pawing/scratching in a weird way on my breast. I put my hand in the spot where she was doing this and felt the lump immediately.

I think the girls have been trying to get my attention about this for several days. Just a few days ago, Tilly rubbed my coffee cup (which I was trying to drink out of) so hard that it spilled my coffee directly on my left breast. I was so busy leaping up and yelling (it was hot and, more importantly, I didn't want it to get on the white sofa!) that I wasn't in the right place to go pressing on my breast. A couple of days ago, Lola did something she has never done before—she nipped at my breast!  Read more »

Thursday evening, I was cleaning the tile around the tub at the house, in preparation to have the bathtub refinished the next day. What do you know, the drain stopped up and the water wouldn't go down! That's pretty much a disaster, as we had to have the refinishing done on Friday and today, or we wouldn't meet the schedule. I knew they would need a functioning drain.

So, Thursday night I called as many plumbers as I could, but no one could come out in the morning. Friday morning, my handyman Greg suggested I call the other handyman, Gustavo, for help. Gustavo may not be a contractor, but he has built houses, done electrical work, done lots of plumbing—you name it. When I called him, he was on his way to a job but agreed to take a side trip to take a look at the drain.  Read more »

From the beginning of this project, I knew I wanted to stage the house for sale. Because we moved everything out, the house is empty. Empty houses do not sell for as much as furnished ones, partly because buyers don't have as much imagination as you might think. They find it hard to envision how furniture will fit into an empty house, and perhaps more than that, the find it hard to desire a home that doesn't already paint a picture of home.  Read more »

I cannot wait for Kathy's house to sell. My life has been derailed for almost a year by various things, and I'm eager to get it back.

It all started with an excruciatingly painful frozen shoulder that made daily life an unnecessary challenge and forced me to stop seeing clients for a couple of months. (When you normally spend an entire client session typing up notes while you and your client converse, you need both arms.) The frozen shoulder was one of those sobering experiences where you realize that you are more vulnerable than you imagined. Maybe you've been through something like that…you think you are the little engine that could and then your body suddenly says you can't and moreover, it won't. What the heck?  Read more »

Do you know who Pat Simpson is? He's the guy on HGTV who hosts shows like Fix it Up, Before & After, and Room to Improve. He endorses a number of home improvement products, too. Pat is a genial, down-to-earth guy from Alabama. Warm and friendly, he makes home improvement topics seem simple and accessible. He's taught me all sorts of things about everything from routers and rasps to countersink bits and countertops. In short, he's my hero.  Read more »

Working against the advice of our realtor, we have a handyman doing the remodel of the bathroom as we speak. I had already bought the materials (vanity, sink, faucets, mirrors, shower doors) before she weighed in with her opinion. Besides, Kathy always hated that bathroom and if the owner couldn't stand it, it's not going to attract buyers. With only a single bathroom in the house, we think it's gotta look good. We're going for fresh, contemporary, and clean-looking…and in the end, that's what it will be.

But right now, it's torn up and becoming more expensive by the minute.  Read more »

As we get Kathy's house ready to sell, one thing we decided to do was upgrade the appliances in the kitchen. That may sound radical, but the cooktop and oven were original to the house – which means, circa 1959!

I'd love to say that all of the past owners to exquisite care of these vintage appliances, but alas, that wasn't the case. The cooktop was a lovely retro mint green, but not all the electric burners worked, and age had taken its toll. The wall oven was best not examined too closely; Kathy wisely avoided it whenever she could during her tenure.  Read more »

Today my painters started painting the interior of Kathy's house. I had to do an early run to Restoration Hardware to get some of the paint and the handyman picked up the rest. I opened up the house for them and met with them to discuss last minute decisions.

The colors we chose for the house are based exclusively on what will sell well; they are not colors I would use myself.  Read more »