Well, we’re nine days into the New Year, and so far, I haven’t gotten much done. ? But after spending a couple of hours working on the studio yesterday, I feel like I’m finally getting back into DIY mode, gaining some focus and momentum, and feeling more determined to get these rooms finished.
But before I get into that, let me share what happened yesterday. It was so scary!! I’ve been doing more Instagram stories just to give people more of a personal, behind-the-scenes look at my life. A couple of days ago, I explained that I generally don’t get to start working on my house projects until about 3:00 in the afternoon because I have my normal morning routine (i.e., getting Matt situated either on his Theracycle or recliner, making coffee, editing pictures, writing a blog posts, etc.). After that, I cook lunch and sit down with Matt for lunch while we watch a show.
Because of his M.S. (and the general, overall weakness and exhaustion that comes with it), Matt is the slowest eater! I don’t feel like I can just get up and start working and leave him by himself while he’s eating because literally everything is a choking hazard for him. So I have to sit there and wait for him to finish.
Well, yesterday proved my point. Matt eats a carnivore diet (literally, meat only), and I prefer for him to eat things like ribeye or a roasted chicken or something like that. Basically, I don’t like him eating processed food. But every now and then, he craves more variety and wants to add something different. So yesterday, he asked for hotdogs. Nine hotdogs. ? I buy the best all-beef hotdogs with the shortest list of ingredients that I can find, and he literally eats nine of them for a meal. He loves them.
But yesterday, just as he was taking a bite of hotdog, he had a spasm in his throat, causing a bite of hotdog to go down his throat without him chewing it, and it lodged there. It freaked me out so much! And of course, he was scared as well. But interestingly, he could still breathe! It was a bit of a labored breathing, but he could breathe, especially if he turned his head to the side and stayed calm.
He tried to cough it up, but because of his M.S., he has a very weak cough reflex and has almost no ability to force a cough, so that was not successful at dislodging the piece. I looked with my iPhone flashlight to see if I could see it and maybe get it out with my finger, but it was too far down his throat for me to even see, so I didn’t want to stick my finger down there and potentially push it further down his throat. It was so scary!! We have on of those Lifevac choking rescue devices, but since he was still able to breathe, I was afraid to try it.
So I ended up calling 911. Just as the paramedics were about to load him up to take him to the hospital, Matt asked if they would just grab his arms and pull him forward so that his head was kind of face down towards the bed. After being in that position for about 20 seconds, he finally coughed it up! I mean, with one good cough, that piece of hotdog just popped right out of his mouth.
We were both soooo relieved…obviously. I literally jumped up and down and cheered and cried. ? That’s the closest he’s ever come to being seriously in danger from choking. I mean, he was just one throat spasm or quick inhale away from having his airway blocked. Of course, had that happened, I could have then used the Lifevac.
I asked the paramedic if I made the right decision by NOT using the Lifevac since he could still breathe, and he said that I did. But he also said that those Livevac things really do work if a person’s airway is blocked. So I highly recommend having one on hand, especially if you have children, or you’re a caretaker of another adult, or you live by yourself. Using a Lifevac on yourself would be much easier than trying to perform the Heimlich maneuver on yourself.
So that was our excitement for the day. I told Matt that I could do without that type of excitement in our lives. ? Needless to say, after the paramedics left, Matt and I both were feeling quite shaken. I had that whole-body cooked spaghetti feeling, so I wasn’t too anxious to jump right up and start working.
Anyway, Matt is fine, and I did finally get some work done on the studio yesterday evening. The back French doors are finally painted. The last time I shared my progress, these doors had only been primed.
So now they’re painted and looking fresh and clean. We’ll see how long that lasts with white doors by the carport that I use as my workshop. ?
You’ll notice that some of the glass panes still have paint on them. Before I primed and painted the doors, I used the Jasco Mask & Peel on the glass, which is so much easier than taping off the glass.
If you’re not using this stuff to paint your windows and French doors, you’re probably wasting a lot of time with tape! (Unless you’re a really good, fast taper.) Since this is primer also, that means you don’t have to be careful about not getting it on the wood part of your door or window. Just paint it right on the glass and onto the wood, and it primed the wood while coating the glass. Then when you’re finished painting, score around the edges with a razor blade, and the mask just peels right off of the glass.
So I just haven’t finished removing the mask from those panes yet. I removed the mask from about nine of the panes in probably 10 minutes last night, but I was tired and ready for bed, so I decided to leave the rest for today.
I’ve decided that I’m going to finish the back entry first since it’s so close to being finished. I didn’t realize until yesterday that that also needs to include repainting the baseboards. These things are a mess! As is the floor, which needs a good scrubbing.
My new curtain rod for the French doors arrived before Christmas, and I think the color is gorgeous. It’s eight feet wide, and it’s not an adjustable curtain rod. The back entryway is only about 7.5 feet wide. But I bought it anyway because I think I can make it work. I know I can. It WILL work. ?
And I absolutely love the matching rings from the same company. I like that they’re a square design rather than the standard rounded design.
And little things tend to impress me, like the fact that the rings came with drapery pins for those of us who don’t use clips. I generally have to make an extra trip to Joann Fabrics for drapery pins, so this was a nice above-and-beyond thing for this company to include with their drapery rings.
So my plan is to finish the back entry, including making and hanging the draperies, and then move on to the cabinets in the office area of the studio and get those finished. Since I can close the door to the studio bathroom and have that mess hidden from sight, I think I’ll leave that alone for now, finish the studio, and then tackle the bathroom. That’s the plan! But of course, I have a habit of changing my mind on a whim, and sometimes changing my mind about 10 times a day. ? So we’ll see.
Addicted 2 Decorating is where I share my DIY and decorating journey as I remodel and decorate the 1948 fixer upper that my husband, Matt, and I bought in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do physical work, so I do the majority of the work on the house by myself. You can learn more about me here.
