Spitting Heater

Today I woke up early to a loud spitting noise. It was the radiator unit in the bedroom. Jim had turned the nob last night so that it would produce more heat. It worked but it was very loud. Today was another brutally cold day with snow flurries. It was best for Jimmy to not venture out in it. He is still fighting a lung irritation. Getting better but the cold air would not be good for his lungs. Around noon I gathered the laundry into two duffles and  headed to the laundromat. It's only a half mile but with two big loads it seemed more like a mile. I piled the clothes into 3 washers and put my $20.00 in the change machine to get quarters. Each wash machine is $3.50 and the dryers are $1.00 for 28 minutes. The silver lining in my day was that I was the last person to use the change machine before it ran out of quarters. Five disappointed people came in while I was there to get change. All I know is that I would have been extremely disappointed if I had walked all the way there carrying two large loads and then had to return with dirty clothes.

Here is a picture of the noisy radiator with peeling paint on the walls and baseboards. If you are wondering what the little black boxes are to the left of the heater they are rat traps. They were down there already when Jim moved a small bookcase to get to the heater. If I see a rat you will hear about it. I know this is New York City and they are everywhere but I don't want to see one in the apartment.

Jim received three different phone calls today from MSK people. Peggy, the nurse practitioner helping run the clinical trial called to see how he was doing after his first round of treatment and to make sure he was taking his oral chemo correctly. Then the social worker called him to talk about the possibility of moving to the Hope Lodge. Lastly one of the nurses at the clinic called to check on him. I can't say enough about the efficiency and professionalism of the MSK staff.

Tomorrow is supposed to be warmer but rainy. Nevertheless I hope Jim and I can get out and about.