Spa — Our Experience

November 5, 2015October 9, 2017 Joe AuBuchon

With my wife’s neuropathy and difficulties in walking and balancing, we (she) decided to re-do her bathroom with an accessible shower/tub cum spa.

She contacted Bliss Tubs to see if a shower/tub would fit in her bathroom, which is attached to our bedroom.

A sales rep from the company came to our house, measured her bathroom (and my bathroom, which backs up onto our bedroom and her bathroom) and told her that the shower/tub she had chosen would fit–one of us wasn’t so sure, but he assured us that it would. Work was scheduled to begin on October 19 and be concluded by October 23 (Monday to Friday).

On Monday two workers (from Blankenship Construction) arrived to begin the work of demolition and re-building the wall that would be necessary. They began by cutting a hold in the drywall in her bathroom (to see what was in that space behind her shower) and drilled a hole through to the other side. Lo and behold–they drilled into my bathroom. It turned out that the sales rep erred in his measurements and the shower/tub would not fit in her bathroom. (Yes, the workers did fix the drywall in her bathroom.)

At that point the workers and I looked at my bathroom and determined that it would fit in my bathroom in the space where my standard shower/tub was located.

The sales rep (the very embarrassed salesman) came out and we eventually settled on installing the unit in my bathroom, widening the doorway and tiling (with soap/shampoo shelf) the area around the unit.

Work then commenced.

At this time (because of the motors/jets in the shower/tub/spa) we found that we would need to install a new electrical circuit control box as there was no space left in our fifty year old unit for new circuits–read: more $$$.

With all that went on most work was finished by Friday, October 30. On Saturday, October 31 (yes, Halloween) the electrician came to change out the electrical box–no power through most of the day. (Charlie was disappointed in that we missed both the USC and UCLA football games.) The rest of the work was finished on Monday, November 2. The final inspection by the city is supposed to be done tomorrow.

PS: No phone calls–no inspection. Hmmmm . . .

Accessible?

Does it really work? Yes, it does–with a couple of caveats.

Charlie used the unit and likes it quite well, but . . .

— both the floor and the seat of the unit are too slick–you can easily slide and hurt yourself. I cut the mat I’d been using in my shower to fit on the new tub’s floor and it worked well. I’ll need to find something for the seat that is comfortable to sit on.

— the metal grab bars are too slippery when wet. I need to find something to put on them while still having them comfortable to hold.

— there was no grab bar on the inside of the tub door and Charlie needed one to assist her in standing. I used the portable suction grab bar that we had been taking on our trips to use in hotel bathrooms that were not so equipped. It worked quite well and I may buy a couple more for the shower/tub: they work well; they’re cheap and can be moved as desired.

The Workers

The two guys who did most of the work were the kind of people you want to work on your home. They worked hard and were both polite and considerate (taking care to make sure they did not allow the cats out of the house in their coming and going).

Our entry and hallway floors were well protected and received no damage. The tiling looks great. The patching in the walls is good. The floor patching where the bathroom doorway was widened looks OK, even though they couldn’t locate a piece of flooring that was identical to the original bathroom flooring.

Evaluation

Although the entire project took longer than expected (and, of course, was more expensive than the original estimate–read new electrical box), I think it’ll prove to have been a wise decision. My wife likes her new shower/tub/spa–it’ll make her life easier and more enjoyable (and, maybe, mine too).

Oh, yeah. We also installed grab bars next to the toilets in both of our bathrooms.

And, with the dropping nighttime temperatures this week we found out that our heater (1989–and I’ve had it worked on three or four times in the last ten years) no longer works. So, next week we’re getting a new heater, replacing the asbestos ducting–with holes–in the attic and adding air conditioning. Ahhh . . . Although, if you heard a cracking sound about eleven this morning, that was my bank account.

Pictures

I took pictures throughout the work and here they are in a general order of beginning to end.

Accessible Shower/Tub and bathroom floor

I will update this post as needed depending on our continued experiences with this shower/tub/spa–and very quickly if the inspection finds something wrong tomorrow.

Update on Scooter Carrier

It already shows signs of rust (cheap Chinese manufacture and finishing?). I am not pleased, but I can purchase a can of Rust-Oleum black paint for the carrier. Some of the bolts and nuts are also showing rust–very cheap plating.

Domino’s and Handicapped Parking

May 28, 2015 Joe AuBuchon

Domino’s is known for their pizza delivery business–never having ordered from Domino’s I have no idea if their pizza is good, bad or indifferent. But I do know, now, that at least one of their able-bodied drivers uses well-marked handicapped parking places to save herself a few steps.

I dropped my wife off at her hair salon in Costa Mesa, CA on 17th Street at about 11.30 am this morning. Parking in a handicapped spot by the back door to the salon, I unloaded her rollator (a type of rolling walker with built-in seat) and helped her in the door. I then went to the beach.

I stopped for a hamburger and fries–to go–at TK’s in Huntington Beach and drove to one of my regular lunch spots along PCH. The hamburger and fries were good, as was the weather. An hour later as I was finishing up my puzzles, my wife called and said she was ready for me to pick her up. I threw my trash in the trash can, put my remaining puzzles and book in the back of the car and went to pick her up.

When I got to Hillgren Square Shopping Center in Costa Mesa at about 1.30 pm, a Domino’s delivery car–hatchback door open–was in the handicapped space in front of the door to my wife’s salon. A very able-bodied woman was running back and forth between the open Domino’s door and her car–she was not physically handicapped–and I yelled at her–LOUDLY. Heavens I was P.O.ed at her.

No one was in any of the nearby parked cars, so I parked, engine running, behind two other cars and quickly helped my wife into the car and put her rollator in the back. As I was doing that the Domino’s driver was backing her car out of the handicapped spot, whether to park in another spot or to deliver another pizza, I don’t know.

No, I don’t think I’ll order from Domino’s anytime soon–if ever.

Sorry, no cat pictures today.

Hotel Parking Lot - July 4, 2013, Billings MT — Hotel Parking Lot – July 4, 2013, Billings MT

Retirement Party . . . and other things.

March 29, 2015October 26, 2017 Joe AuBuchon

Retirement Party

My wife, Diana (Charlie) AuBuchon retired after 30+ years of teaching. Most of that time

was spent as a full-time language arts teacher at McFadden Intermediate School in Santa Ana, California. She also taught in Orange at both Yorba and Portola, middle/junior high schools. She also worked as a substitute at both the junior and senior high school levels.

As a beginning teacher, raised in England, she was assigned an American History class at Yorba and wore a red coat to her open house. As seems to be the habit in the U.S., she was given a half-dozen preps her first years–you know, history, English, French (two levels). Our administrators seem to try and break beginning teachers rather than trying to give them assignments that may encourage them to give their best and stay in the profession.

(As an aside, my first year consisted of a wood shop class and a metal shop class in two different rooms–my principal said they were both industrial arts classes, and, therefore, they were a single prep. Yeah. I also had four ninth grade history classes–two in the library and the other two were in Spanish classrooms during those teachers’ conference periods–after the department chairman had cherry-picked the students he wanted for his six ninth grade history classes.)

In addition to her American history class, Charlie was given the cheerleaders–they don’t have cheerleaders in England. Like I said earlier, give the newbie assignments that will break them. Don’t believe me? Look up how long the average new teacher actually stays in the teaching profession. Also, look up how many people have teaching credentials but are not teaching.

I have never met a more dedicated teacher than my wife. Her dedication really hit me in the face in the two and a half years since my own retirement. In that time I watched her plan and correct and grade student assignments again and again and again. She spent more time on her students than she did on herself, her cats and me combined. In spite of her health issues these last several years, her devotion to her students and her profession never flagged or wavered.

Being forced to retire has hit her hard. Life without teaching has left a void that will be difficult to fill–if that is even possible. But we will try.

We had seventy or more people at Saturday’s party. Charlie and I had a good time, and, so I believe, did everyone else.

Commercial Plug: food, chairs, tables, servers, bartender and etc. were handled by West Coast Event Productions. http://wceventproductions.com/

Photos taken at the party can be found on my Flickr page:

flickr dot com/photos/joe_aubuchon/

Handicapped Access

Any of you out there handicapped? Don’t you love it when

Spec. Ed. SAUSD Bus Blocks Access to Ramp.

someone without a handicapped plate/sticker takes a handicapped parking place,
someone with a handicapped plate/sticker takes a handicapped parking place and remains in the car while the non-handicapped driver/passenger goes into the store,
someone blocks access to a handicapped ramp or other access.

At McFadden Intermediate School in Santa Ana the Special Education buses block access to the handicapped ramps (and the drivers refuse to move when asked).

Meow

Mist and Smoke on Sunday (Siamese cats) — Mist and Smoke on Sunday

Vacation Travels 2014 – Part 1

September 1, 2014September 1, 2014 Joe AuBuchon

Travels

Our vacation got off to a late start this summer as both Charlie and I had dental issues with which to deal—mine was a cracked tooth into which I could insert a fingernail.

We loaded up our new Buick Enclave with a Thule carrier on top. Great car with a smooth and quiet ride. Gas mileage is 15-16 in town and 20-26 on the open road. We took the cats, Mist and Smoke, with us; they were quite noisy the first couple of days but eventually became good travelers and, for the most part, stayed out of the front seats.

We spent the first night in Gilroy (via I-5 and Cal 152) at a friend’s house; they were on vacation and out of town at the time but mailed us a key and we enjoyed a quiet evening there. The next day we drove to Arcata on US 101. A very nice drive although we went a bit slower than in the De Ville as the Enclave is both heavier and has a higher center of gravity.

Stayed the night at the Arcata Super 8 (on “motel road”), which has one smoking, handicapped room (and allows cats with fee). The original adjustable handicapped shower handle/head was broken and not properly replaced. (I informed management; the problem was not fixed by the time we returned several weeks later.) Otherwise the room was fine.

The next day we drove to Albany, Oregon via Coos Bay/North Bend and the Umpqua River route and I-5. We stopped for an hour at the Mill Casino and Hotel in North Bend but did not spend the night. (Charlie loves their casino and gift shop and we both like their restaurants.) They do not take cats although they do take dogs, some of them very large.

While Charlie was in the casino, I put the cats on their leashes and walked around the hotel and fell into conversation with a security guard. I explained why I was outside and why we were not staying at the hotel and he expressed surprise at the no cats policy. He told me he would speak with management about the issue and we exchanged email addresses.

After Charlie’s hour and a half were up, we resumed our travels and stopped and watched elk for a few minutes at the Dean Creek Elk viewing area on the Umpqua River. Then on to the Super 8 in Albany on the I-5. (Handicapped, smoking and cats with a Subway a half mile’s walk away.)

The next day it was the I-5 to Portland, east along the Columbia River and north to Spokane, actually the Super 8 in West Spokane. (Smoking, cats but not handicapped equipped—more about which later.)

On to Bozeman, Montana and the Holiday Inn. (Cats, smoking but not handicapped equipped.) We like their restaurant but it is too far a walk for Charlie and we didn’t feel like getting back into the car and driving around to the other side of the hotel. So, we had a room service dinner: two appetizers and two dinners—too much, but delicious.

Travels with Mist and Smoke asleep in hotel. — Mist and Smoke asleep in hotel.

The next day it was a “straight” shot east on I- 90/I-94 to Wibaux, Montana where we stayed at the Beaver Creek Inn and Suites. Cats, smoking but their only handicapped room is non-smoking. The room was comfortable and the staff (owner) friendly. Charlie did not feel like going out to dinner so, on the motel owner’s recommendation I called the Shamrock Club for a take-out dinner—delicious and, once again, too much food.

Then it was across North Dakota to Moorhead, Minnesota and the Travelodge. A very nice smoking, cats but not handicapped equipped room and a Subway sandwich dinner. (Charlie usually has a tuna with onions, tomatoes and avocado and I have a Subway Club with just about everything, including lots of jalapeños.

Last day of travel was north on the I-29 and the east on ND 66 and MN 11. (Neither OnStar nor Waze was aware of the too long detour on MN 11—dirty word, dirty word, dirty word. (Or bleep, bleep, bleep, if you prefer.)

Aside from this it was a nice, easy journey with no weather problems and very little delay for construction.

Travels: Postscript

I received an email from Suzann Anaya, Director of Operations for the Mill Casino Hotel on the reason for their no cats policy: “Our main concern with cats in the hotel rooms is the allergens they leave. We have many other hotel guests who have severe feline allergies.” I can quite understand this but still . . . Super 8, Motel 6, Travelodge and Holiday Inn allow cats.