Full Friday

What a day. We started off with therapy sessions a bit early today. Linda brought her canes. She can walk reasonably well using two canes, one in each hand. We bought them some time ago, and she has practiced walking short distances in the kitchen. She didn't really think her PT would approve of the canes, but she was also told to be more assertive, so she brought them instead of the walker. It turned out pretty well. As it turns out, the PT was going to suggest something similar.

Working with the therapist showed up one glitch. I trimmed Linda's canes a bit too short. They start out quite long, so I shortened them when we bought them. They were still too long, so I shorted them again. Too long. I shortened them a third time and got them close but slightly too short. Luckily canes are about as cheap as medical supplies ever get. So I bought two more canes and we'll make them longer. Ellie will want one to play with anyway, and this way she can have one.

We also used the canes when we went out. She walked for the first time at Wal-mart (rather than the wheelchair). We didn't browse the store, we went in and out for a single item. Still, it's a milestone.


I talked to the sellers of our new house, and it looks like we are going to be able to close on Friday the 30th. We will be able to move as early as Monday or Tuesday (Aug 2-3). That means a bit more earnest packing for us I suppose. I know many people are interested in helping us move, so I am open to feedback. Any preference for Monday or Tuesday (I see classes will have ended in any event)? You can leave comments or email me.

This afternoon I took care of the last detail on my end, insurance. Getting a good premium on your homeowners insurance is a black art. I know. I sat with the agent for an hour and a half putting data into form fields and generating quotes. You can make essentially a cosmetic change on the form and change your premium by $40. It is less expensive to insure my house for 125% of its value than it is to insure it for 87% of its value. That's just weird. It's clear that there needs to be a "truth in insurance" law like the truth in banking laws.

The insurance agent laughed when I told her to hit reload and see if we got a different premium (it was a web form). I explained that airlines often sell tickets for different amounts at different times of day. Our quote-generating experience today was so random that I would be quite unsurprised to find out that insurance companies do the same thing. In any event, I have insurance. I can always cancel the policy if I find something cheaper.


Linda went all day without spitting food on her shirt in a coughing fit. How about that? She really hates when that happens.


Every night when I put Linda to bed, we do dexterity activities with her left hand. Usually that has been thumb wars, but tonight I had the inspiration to make her finger spell. That was an excellent (and hard) activity. We'll definitely be doing that again.