Blog Archives

Wait, he is hurrying as fast as he can

 

     Someone rang our doorbell at eight in the morning yesterday.  Since I’d only gone to bed two hours before that I didn’t hear it.  Most importantly, it seems that people don’t understand that it takes DH some time to get to the door especially if he’s upstairs.  He’s no Speedy Gonzalez, due to his MS the man moves at a turtle’s pace.

     By the time DH got to the door, the bell ringer was long gone.  How much sense does it take to realize that we are home when both our cars are in the driveway?  Is patience in such short supply that the person had to rush off?  Nothing ticks DH off more than to rush to the door only to find the person gone.  Mind you, his rushing is similar to a snail on crack but that can’t be helped.

     I hate to think I have to post a sign saying, ‘person answering the door is slow…please have patience.’

Mall kiosk psychos

 

     I amazed myself yesterday.  I asked G to go clothes shopping with me.  Coldwater Creek was having a half price sale.  The jeans, capris, and slacks I bought there for the conference fit so well that I couldn’t resist the sale.  I came home with two more pair of capris that are so comfortable I could live in them all summer.  Gina bought one pair.

     They are very helpful in the store but I really hate walking through the mall to get there.  I have a question for everyone out there.

     Do I have a sign on my forehead that says ‘come on drive me crazy’?  What is it about me that attracts all those psycho mall demo-sales people?  I do everything I can to NOT make eye contact with them and yet they literally grab me when I go anywhere near one of those little kiosks.  No matter how many times I say, “No, I’m not interested” they still try to slather me with their crap.  I tell them I’m allergic and they insist I can’t be allergic to their stuff.  Hey, I lied but it did me no good.  She grabbed my arm in a vise-like grip and slathered the whateveritistheyareselling on the inside of my wrist. 

     “Lady, for today only $39.99.  See how nice it works on your skin?” 

     I looked at my right wrist then looked at my unmolested left wrist and I saw no difference.  “Sorry Skippy too rich for my blood.”  I hate using crap on my skin and for $39.99, for a teensy bottle it’d better be made of freaking gold.

A short note today

 

     It is two in the morning.  Somewhere, on the other side of the cemetery, there is a mocking-bird giving a lively concert.  He has quite a repertoire and he is going at full volume.  I’m betting there are a few people wishing they had a shotgun about now too. 

     I love mocking birds and since we haven’t had any around here the last year or two, I find him a delight.  Then he’s not directly outside my window either. 

     You all have a good day.

OMG there is a light at the end of the tunnel!

 

     G and I had help with the work in the basement yesterday.  The MIL’s neighbor came over with her three kids and a surprising amount of garbage went out the basement door.  I adore these people.  I do wish the MIL hadn’t been such a stick in the mud and had taken a chance on getting to know her neighbors, they would’ve been a great help to her.  I’m sure she’d be ready to kill me about now because I’ve allowed them to help clean things out of the house.

     Hey, I’m not proud and I’ll take any help I can get.  The entire project is an overwhelming task.  However, by day’s end we knew that the conclusion of the job was in sight and you wouldn’t believe what a relief that is for us.

     I do know that if it weren’t for G’s help, I’d still be struggling with the upstairs.  While working at the house on Sunday we were talking about how long we’ve known each other, thirty-eight years come September.  We’re closer than I ever was to most of my sisters—heck, I’ve been around her longer.  I met her soon after DH and I were married and moved into our house.

     My dog scared her and I went out to apologize for his bad manners.  We soon became good friends and the GSD learned he had to mind his manners around her because she no longer believed in his bluster at the fence.

The to do list is never ending…

 

     There’s a baseboard-heating unit in the MIL’s basement that’s all rusted to hell and is in dire need of replacing.  Yep, it’s another thing to add to the list of crap that is wrong with her house.  The next question is; do I replace it or leave it for the next owner to do? 

     Whom do you get to install a replacement unit?  A plumber?  A heating company?  Perhaps a friend who has the skills? 

     The person who was supposed to do all these things for her a few years ago managed to rip her off and leave many things poorly done or not done at all.  Lesson learned?  Never hire a friend’s brother.  Especially, never hire the brother when he has a drug problem.  The man used to do great work but all that changed with his addiction.

Updates and other stuff

 

     Off to the doctor’s for a recheck today.  My back still itches.  I hope I don’t have to take more of those danged horse pills.  The worst part is I have to be there at ten in the morning.  I don’t do mornings but I couldn’t get a later appointment for today.  Guess who isn’t going to bed until AFTER the appointment.

     Max, our new Koi is getting braver.  He practically leaps over the big girls to get to the choicest bits of food.

     G had more kitties dumped at her place.  Two of them are very sweet youngsters and there’s a third one, who is skittish.  They seldom see him all they could tell me is that he’s black.  Of the two sweethearts, one is a marmalade tabby male and the other one is female, pure black with yellow eyes.  They’ve been residing on her deck for a week now.  I finally got meet them today.  Both are quite affectionate and love human contact.  I’d put them at a tad under a year old.  Anyone want a cat? 

Another clean out day

 

     Another day at the MIL’s house and we’ve reached the front half of the basement on our cleanup.  We’re about two-thirds through that section now.  The part we dread is the last section where all the tools, wood my FIL had stashed for projects he never made, and jars of thirty some year old pickles reside.  EWWWW!

     Oh, yeah then there all the bottles of thirty-eight year old home-made wine we have to empty and toss away.  EWWWW again!  I have no idea how old the cans of beer are that are down there but Dad died in 1995 and Mom didn’t drink beer….

     The neighbor’s son loaded two PVC lounge chairs, one PVC table, and four PVC chairs into my car.  We then crammed two lounge chair cushions in along with several other items.  Unfortunately, I couldn’t bring the kid home with me to unload the car…. 

     All of the furniture was filthy from being stored for in the garage for years so after I got it into the yard I had to scrub it all.  It looks rather nice out in the yard.

OMG cut off from the internet!

 

     Something chewed through my modem’s power cord today.  To say that I was upset is an understatement.  Me panic?  Hell, yes!  I called my provider and told them my cord was shredded.  They are sending me a new modem, but the tech suggested I try Radio Shack for a power cord.

     I made a wild dash to the nearest Radio Shack and practically threw the cord at the poor clerk, “Do have one of these?  Please tell me yes.”

     He found one and I went home feeling happy until I tried to plug it into my modem—it didn’t fit!  I hopped into my car and returned to the store.  This time I took the modem with me.

     I breathed a sigh of relief when the clerk found the correct adapt a tip for my new power cord and had my modem up and running in no time.

     Don’t worry the dogs survived my tirade.  For once, it wasn’t one of them that caused the destruction.  It was the paper shredder. 

Can incoherent scribbling become cohesive writing?

 

     The writer in me is restless but can’t seem to find the words to put down on the pages.  Instead, I find I’m scribbling ideas on note cards and stacking them on my desk to do something with them later.  Although avoiding my garden’s siren call is difficult, maybe this lovely change in the weather will help to inspire me to sit down and organize my scribbles into a coherent package.  I need to get more words on the page and fewer half-baked ideas on note cards.

     My note card stack has reached toppling level.  Walk past my desk, the stack wobbles and threatens to fall.  Even the dogs have learned to tip-toe past.

     I have blank note cards with pens in every room of the house, my car, and my purse.  No idea has gone off into the ozone over the last month, which is quite an improvement over recent months.

Let the TrueBlood marathon begin

 

     Back last year I preordered the third season of TrueBlood.  Night before last I got an e-mail from Amazon saying they’d shipped it.  It arrived yesterday afternoon.  Yippee!  Guess what I’ll be watching with DH every evening.  I need to replay several episodes of the last season so we can get back into the story before we start the new ones.  Oh heck, I’m betting we start over at the beginning again.

     I got DH hooked on TrueBlood when I bought the first season.  He was even looking forward to the second season when it came out.  I’d no sooner told him that Amazon had said they’d sent the third season when the mail carrier opened our screen door and placed the package between the doors.  Talk about a surprise.

Where did that clerk go?

 

     Woo wee, we had another humid and hot day today.  I got out and enjoyed it.  I dug out the pitchfork and turned the soil by the back fence.  Then later, when the sun was off the area, I planted four more tomato plants, two cucumber plants, and three different types of eggplant.  That means I have five different types of eggplant in the ground now.  Two are in a pot along the side of the house.

     I made a run over to Home Depot, which was not the smartest thing to do today.  I struggled with and got my bags of potting soil into a cart but couldn’t find anyone to help me with the mulch.  There wasn’t an orange apron to be seen anywhere.  Soon, I was too hot and tired to care.  I paid for the potting soil, and spray foam insulation for the MIL’s house, and left.

     I can go elsewhere for my mulch where they actually are eager to help you and will even load the mulch into the car.  Sorry Home Depot you aren’t service oriented and I need help.  I can’t load that many heavy bags into my car by myself.  After loading two bags, I’m shot.

A few thoughts on flip-flops

 

     I am breaking in a new pair of flip-flops and it occurred to me that the manufacturers are not as concerned about women’s safety as they are men’s safety.  How can I tell this you ask?  The next time you are in a store pick up a pair of men’s flip-flops and a pair of women’s, turn them over and look at the soles.  You’ll notice that most men’s flip-flops have traction built into them.  Oh look, the women’s don’t!  In fact, the women’s flip-flops seem designed for slippage.

     Are women less apt to slip than men are?  I think not.  That’s the main reason I will buy a pair of men’s flip-flops rather than a pair of women’s.  The flip-flops I’m breaking in now are women’s and they are slippery.  I should’ve bought another pair of men’s.

     I’ll have to get out the Dremel tool and cut some traction lines into the soles before I slip and break my neck.  If anyone can do that, it will be me.  Chuck knows all about how easy I can do things like that, he was here the day two years ago when I sprained BOTH of my ankles.