If you read yesterday's post, you know we found a great tool for mom to use to put on compression hose. We got a call last night… she couldn't get them off. Good thing we live four houses down.

As it turns out, there's a tool for getting the darned things off. If I had known, I would have ordered them both at the same time. Click here for more info on the Medi Butler Off (called the doffer).

Mom went to the dermatologist today. He froze off some pre-cancerous patches and he looked at her legs. Mom gets to apply some ointment and wear compression hose for the foreseeable future. We bought the proper hose and then came the real fun.

When you can't bend and can barely reach your toes to put on regular socks it's more than a trick to put on compression hose. I have, in the past, thought mom was sort of a slacker when she told me how hard this task was. Boy, have I been schooled. 

I decided to google 'tricks to putting on compression hose' and found this movie. I watched the first half and we tried that. Didn't work. But then we watched the end of the movie together. Yes! There is a tool for putting on compression hose. Mom went from being disgusted with the whole process to happy.

Within 5 minutes we were calling (the number is listed) to place an order. We ordered one that has extension handles which should be even better for mom. So, for any of you who need to know… here you go:

You might also find good links here.

As promised, here is a photo of Mom's front porch:

Rather than one big step, the boys built two 4 1/2" steps. The hand rails are made from treated lumber. We debated about using galvanized pipe but it's too cold in the winter and too hot in the summer. We also thought about building fancier hand rails (well, I thought about it) but this simpler design was faster and looks better with the house.

The concrete pavers off to the right were there before. As mom says it's one less place to need to plant something.

Steve used the same style of hand rail for the front steps. 

The previous owner painted all the concrete in front orange. Mom does not love it. The one gray step you see here is the one Jeff fixed last August. It doesn't match. I am waiting for the day when Mom would like us to either paint it orange or sandblast the rest of the concrete. Until then, I'm going to ignore it.

You're wondering about the bird, aren't you? On my way to Mom's to take this photo I was surprised to spot an adult road runner in our front yard:

I tried to get a better photo but the darned thing kept running farther away. It stood almost a foot tall. Who knew we had road runners!

I thought I had a photo of the finished porch but I can’t find it – but the porch is finished and and so are all the handrails. I promise to get a photo posted soon. Mom can now walk from her front door to the mailbox and back. That’s important. She is so not happy that her body is no longer agile. Anything we can do to keep her mobile makes us all happy. The boys did a great job and for that I am truly grateful.

My Christmas present was the installation of a new Solatube in the hall bathroom. Chris measured and cut the hole in the bathroom from the inside…

Chris is so related to me. You see that bandage on his arm? He fell off the stepstool and luckily only bruised his arm. We wrapped it and he took ibuprofen and it’s OK. More OK than it would be if Steve or I had fallen. Falling down is really bad and I try to avoid it at all costs. I am not nearly as steady as Steve is and I think my oldest son got my not-as-steady genes. One can hope that he also got some of my other more beneficial genes to offset the falling down genes.

Jeff was in the attic. You can see how much he loves the attic.

Steve and I went into the attic the next day to wrap the new Solatube (and last year’s tube) with insulation. I had not been that far into the attic before. It was interesting, knowing that one misstep and I’d be through the sheetrock ceiling. I didn’t love it but I did do it.

Installing a solatube requires cutting through the roof. All my guys were on the roof (see above) and not long after I got this nice shot of the boys. How often do you see sky all the way behind your subjects?

In the daytime the Solatube looks like a recessed lighting fixture. The light from outside illuminates the room. I love it and think of my boys every time I walk by.

On New Year’s Eve the guys (and Elanor!) did the polar bear plunge in our pool. I missed Elanor’s jump but managed to get photos of the guys. Jack jumped twice.

Steve is in the pool often so it wasn’t so surprising to see him wet. That said the water is COLD (low 50s) and you won’t see me in it until late May, or June.

Once you are this far over the water, there’s no going back…

Jeff jumped and swam 3 times across the pool. Which meant that Chris had to jump in again. See that look on Jeff’s face? That’s what your face looks like when you jump into COLD water.

Today, January 1, 2012, is here. Jeff flew home today. Chris is on his way to England for a conference on British literature. I spent all day, and I mean ALL DAY, cleaning the house. I washed and cleaned out drawers. I moved the 2011 files into a box and am ready for the new year’s receipts. I’m getting ready for classes that are coming soon. Tomorrow I have to start writing the text for our next book. Life is going on.

But I can’t help but remember those for whom life is not going on. Some people we love died in 2011. My sister, christy, and right before Christmas one of my mother’s very good friends, Becky, died. It is a constant reminder of how important it is to treasure each day, to let those you love know that you do, in fact, love them. 

I ate my good luck black eyed peas today. I hope they work for the new year.

Steve finished the mailbox today and planted the 3 posts that will make handrail next to the steps in the yard. Tomorrow they are installing the actual handrails.

If you look farther back in the photo you can see Chris and Jeff putting in the decking boards. 

Those 4×4 posts at the front of the porch will be cut shorter and handrails will be added there as well.

We bought the recycled plastic decking boards for the porch. They will never warp or split or peel or require stain or painting. The main part of the porch is level with the threshold which makes going into or out of the door a lot easier. When you are 79 and use a walker this is important – but it’s also nice for able-bodied persons.

Honestly I don’t like the idea of mom going in and out of her front door because of all the stairs. But the new porch and the handrails will at least make it safer for her to go get the mail if she takes a notion to do that herself.

Today was also picture day at our house. Jeff hired a photographer (postponed from my 55 1/2-birthday party last July) to come and take family pictures. I cannot wait to see the photos! Between shots, while the kids were in picture-taking-mode, I pulled out my own camera and took some pictures…

They didn’t pose but it was fun to take some photos.

When the photo-taking was over Jeff helped me take down the tree and put up a lot of the Christmas stuff. I sort of miss it, but I my space seems bigger and I like that too. And Christmas will be here next year! Now our big kids are going out to dinner and we are babysitting the grandkids. Dinner, popcorn and a movie… sounds good to me!

Last week Christopher and I built Lorna a porch – Merry Christmas! Today Chris and Jeff started work on Mom's new porch. Steve and I bought the supplies and the boys are supplying the plans and labor – Merry Christmas again!

Here's the way Mom's house looked when she bought it last summer, sort of. This is after I painted the yellow front door dark blue.

The new porch will cover the old concrete and be wider and deeper.

The boys worked together  and separately on related tasks.

I sort of make Jeff crazy. We both tend to like to be in charge and this was his job, not mine. I had to make myself a bit scarce so as not to make his head explode.

Christopher finds it easier to ignore me so I don't make him as crazy. I know he selectively ignores me and that's OK. See that look on his face? He has that look when he looks at me a lot. 

Steve has a Ph.D. and the boys will each have one. But below you can see the first PHD (post hole digger) that any of them used. Steve always advised the boys to find a profession in which they did not have to use the PHD very often. However, when you need a hole for a 4×4 post, this is a good tool to have. 

They mixed concrete to put in the holes with the 4×4 posts. I have watched the guys mix concrete numerous times and I think I could get the correct consistency. But mixing concrete requires a lot of upper body strength so I'm glad I'm a supervisor and not an actual mixer.

Jeff does lots of pushups, every day. It shows. He's also a math/statistics guy. He was keenly aware of the levelness of the new porch. Not that Christopher wasn't… but there is a difference between math guys and English literature guys. And I can 'feel' the difference without being able to exactly put it in words. But it's there.

One of the most wonderful parts of watching our boys work on a project like this is seeing how great at it they both are, in different ways. And they get to the same place, differently. It is a reminder to me that there are more ways to do something, to think about something, than I know. This is something I try to remember when I teach. I know what I know – but that isn't everything there is to know.

The really tall posts will be cut off to make handrails on each side of the steps to the porch. Mom really needs handrails these days – bursitis in her hip. She is not happy that her body is trying to fall apart but to her credit she is not a complainer. And she's still exercising. Way to go Mom!

The guys are consulting, below.

Steve took out the yellow mailbox today and I can't tell you how happy Mom is to see that go. Look close and you can see the yellow one on the ground near the pickup, below. The new, quieter mailbox will go in tomorrow. Also tomorrow Steve will put in the posts for a handrail next to the steps in the yard.

Also today Steve put up outside backyard lights. Mom no longer has to take Taz (a yorkie) out with a flashlight to pee in the dark. The thought of Mom out with the (stupid) dog in the dark and cold with a flashlight makes my head hurt.

I'm a cat person and admit to not loving this dog. That said, Taz was Christy's dog and Mom loves him (even when he pees on the floor). He is there for her to talk to. He makes her move even when she's not crazy about moving. I guess I can sort of like the dog. But my oh my I wish he didn't pee on the floor. At least he doesn't do it often and the floors are not carpeted.

I'll post more tomorrow so that you can see how the new front of the house turns out…