Merry Christmas

Its been quiet since my last posting.  Although I did not get a chest ‘infection’, the flue going around does have a really strong chest cough component, especially for people with bad allergies or asthma issues – so I ended up spending another week basically in bed or very inactive so that I could keep the coughing under control.

Something that complicated this illness is that when you cough you actually increase the pressure in your spinal column and if you have disc issues, each cough represents a stabbing pain at the injured disc site. So as a result the back has gotten really bad and quite frankly, I am not sure what I am going to do.  Hopefully once I stop coughing (almost better now), the back will settle down and I can walk and sit pain free again.

Very little has been accomplished at the job site due to my physical limitations.  I have spent some time in the office preparing the moisture sensors for the basement walls and also repaired the roving cam and reactivated (required rewiring some corroded power connections).  The shed cam is terminal and being sent back under warranty today and should be back up in a week or so.  I also managed to haul the damaged tarp out of the pit using the electric winch.  I had a chat with the tarp supplier last week and there is some things we can do to make the new tarp more durable.

So that is it – a suitable ending for the year I have had.  All I can do is put it behind me and regroup yet again and start the new year on a more productive and professional path.  I wrote many months ago that in order to be a successful owner builder you needed to exhibit the following traits:

• Patience to accept that things will not go as planned, but faith they will work out in the end.
• Perseverance in order to have the ability to stick with the task no matter how exhausted you are and however unlikely it looks like you will be successful.
• A positive/upbeat attitude to allow you to bounce back from defeats and setbacks so that you can still win the war.
• Stubbornness (most important trait) to allow you to push through to a solution even when none seem available.

I can attest that all of these are needed in spades in order to survive and not throw in the towel and run to hide in the woods!

I want to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you for visiting my website and the encouragement, sympathy, support, and guidance I have received from many of you.  It is deeply appreciated.

Merry Christmas everyone and I wish you all a healthy and joyous 2015.