another rough one

Dear Family and Friends,
What a day! I've coughed more and deeper than ever in my whole life. Glad no one had to listen or put up with the noise. I had a good night last night and I've got to believe the vicks on the feet helped. I woke feeling better but that was short lived. Shortly after I got vertical the coughing started. It hits for 5 or 10 minutes of constant coughing and then finally I have some minutes of relief. The day started with unhappy clients but ended with a huge compliment from a different client, Judy passed that one on to me this evening and it felt so good to hear that someone "knew my work", was pleased with the appraisal and was glad to work with my appraisal. I have to be honest, while I stayed in the chair at my computer all day other than making brief meals I did not produce a lot of work. I wrestled with value checks, did conditions on prior appraisals, attempted to make appointments with as few words as possible and was relieved to realize that the work day was over. For fun I backed the limping van out of the garage and used two little power air pumps to take the tires from 0 to 40 lbs. Then after making a few phone calls I determined that the best price for tire replacements was Tracy Honda at $290 for each tire. Livermore Honda was $373 and no one else sells or will work on the run flat PAX Michelin tires period. The service manager said the PAX tires have been their biggest goof in years as Honda is a company that does not mess up, they are careful and build wonder cars. I got a quote of Earl Schieb for $1,500 for new rims and 4 new tires. Problem is I have one brand new tire already on the van and one is still holding air so for the time being replacing 1 may do the trick. With fuel costs being so low I would enjoy driving the van again at least until I feel better, it certainly is less stressful and comfortable as well as safer that the ancient bug. So filling the tires with air was the highlight of the day. Financially the highlight was the big moment when I opened the mail and found a check for $500 for a relocation appraisal I did recently. That was great news!
So I've limped through this day but anticipating feeling better tomorrow I've taken the step in faith of making appointments out in the field. I have arranged the schedule so I have time in between properties to rest if I need to.
Steve was so kind to bring me a bottle of magic today that is getting good reports for helping with a variety of health issues plus just helping people feel better. It is called MONA-VIE and is a premier acai blend of 17 juices of fruits. One drinks 2 oz in the morning and 2 oz in the evening. For one thing it tastes great.
Lois has gone for a trip to visit her son Michael and his family in the Sacramento area but before leaving she brought me a new vaporizer. So that along with my little bottle of Vicks should help the night go better.
Overall I think I am better that 24 hours ago but I've coughed so intensely that my entire body is sore, raw and unsettled. The head started hurting after the first rough of coughing moments this morning and has throbbed all day. I've had little meals and I've managed to stretch a huge tomato over three meals now and I still have a little hunk left. Today I've had hot tea, let me tell you there is no shortage of tea in this house. Nan had assembled a huge collection of various types of herbal teas and some are pleasant and soothing to the throat.
The purchase of firewood at Safeway has come in handy today and the house has stayed above 65 all day. The fish tank being too cold was solved by a discovery of an unused heater just sitting in a pile under the tank in the cabinet. So I laid it in the bottom of the sump and after waiting a few minutes for it to settle temp wise plugged it in. Over the day the desired effect has resulted as it gradually lifted the temp to 76+, right where I want it for the winter. So another problem solved.
I had planned a trip this weekend to visit relatives in south Texas, Troys hockey team is playing on Saturday night and I had hoped to be there to experience the fun first hand. But after thinking over where I stood physically I have decided to put the trip off for a healthier day when flying would not pose a risk to my ears. Sometimes plans have to be changed so in the morning I'll call Southwest and put the tickets on hold for now.
It is now time to be in bed, the house is cooling as the fire has burned low. In spite of everything that happened today I am grateful for life, family and the chance to discover God's will. Thanks for the emails and kind words of encouragement, they do make a huge difference. Also thanks for the phone calls even though I was not able to hold very long conversations due to constant coughing. Thanks for the effort you made.

love to all

tim