SLOW DOWN, don't you know school is in session???

In my errand running today, I passed through five different school zones, at the time when children were getting out of school.

I slowed down to the posted speed - which is 30-35 MPH - and immediately had 5-10 cars pass me by, with either rude hand signals or indignant looks. I know what they were thinking...
"Why is that old, white-haired woman driving so slowly?"

The answer is - school is now in session all over the United States, and while the posted speed limits and times may vary from place to place, the law is clear....

YOU NEED TO SLOW DOWN IN SCHOOL ZONES.

And if you don't want to do that, at least allow ME to follow the law. God forbid any of us would hit a child!

I Have a Brain Ache!!

Dealing with contractors and insurance people is a royal pain.

We got a quote from a guy whose spelling is atrocious. I suppose I should overlook it, since if he were a Rhodes Scholar he wouldn't be in the business he's in, but I am very impatient with people who can't spell even the most common words. For example:

What he wrote:   hall             (it should have been haul).
                           debree        (debris)
                           land field     (land fill)
                           tare down    (tear down)
                           flute             (flue)
                           chemmy      (chimney)
                           peice           (piece)
                           licabe           (liable)
                           desides       (decides)

Can you blame me for not having a lot of faith in him - or am I being too picky?

There's a Little Light at the End of the Tunnel

Maybe.

We met with the adjuster today; who, despite being rushed to do five more houses before quitting time, spent about an hour here. He went onto the roof, into the attic, all around the house and deck - even threaded his way through the branches of the tree to locate all the damage, followed closely by our General Contractor.

Apparently (as far as can be seen at this point) we don't have structural or roof damage, which is just about the only good news we've heard for a few days. The crane will be here Friday morning, to begin removal of the tree and attempt to set the broken chimney top section back onto the bottom, after which the mason will brace it with plywood and 2x4's until he can complete the job. Eventually, he will have to remove the old, broken flue tiles and put in new ones and then re-grout the entire fireplace. (Oh, joy.) Hopefully, they will not do any further damage during this process. 

They will replace the gutters on the rear of the house and replace 24' of deck railings and 4x4's. Until the tree is removed, we can't see whether or not the new deck table and chairs were injured.  I haven't even finished paying for them yet!

Wish us luck and keep us in your prayers....please.

THANKS....

to each one of you who left supportive and sympathetic messages over the last few days. I really appreciate them. We are knee deep in phone calls, email and quotes. Over the last two days, quite a few people have surveyed the situation and offered advice and referrals. We have yet to see the insurance adjuster, but he promises that someone will be here as soon as possible. There are hundreds (maybe thousands) of people in NC who have worse problems than we do, and I understand they have to come first - but it is so frustrating to have to wait. 

Posting and visiting will be sparse, if any at all, over the next week or so. As soon as there is anything to report....I'll be back. Y'all take care now, ya' heah? 

A Tiny Wrist Corsage + More Rants

Working at the flower shop on Friday, I learned a new way to make a wrist corsage, which is especially nice for younger girls. It is attached to a slightly more than 1" wide double-faced satin ribbon, which gets tied onto the wrist in a "shoe-string" or double-loop bow. I enjoy learning new ways of doing things!

                                        *****

Remember my recent rants?  I have more (and you must be tired of hearing them).  I shall rant on; however.....

The upstairs heat pump went out two days ago. The capacitor (whatever that is, and it costs a small fortune. 

The plumber was unable to find a re-build kit for my old faucet - so it has to be replaced - another small fortune spent (or will be soon.)

The yellow algae in the pool has come roaring back with a vengeance. Apparently it really likes the Alkalinity Up and the 8 pounds of chlorine and quart of algaecide I put into the pool over the last few days. Sheeeesh!

I'm still waiting for the new stove hood to arrive, and the new stove top cannot (should not) be installed until it does. So......nearly two weeks after the new one arrived here, I'm still waiting. BAH!!

It's Too Darn Hot (a Rant in Several Sections)

The temperature gauge in my car today was 95*, and I heard on the news that the heat index was 101* - and tomorrow, the heat index is going to be 105-110**. I don't know how many days we have been over 90* this summer, but it started early in the spring and hasn't let up for more than 1 or 2 days at a time. Add that to the fact that we need more rain badly, and you know why there is no green grass (except where people have sprinkler systems) and even the trees looked stressed from the unrelenting heat.

I thought I had a dentist appointment today - but after I went there, I found out it is tomorrow. GAH!  I hate when that happens, and I have no one but myself to blame. They usually call me to confirm, but this time they didn't - so maybe I can blame it on them.  lol

Our pool is yellow (again). Mustard algae rears its ugly head once more. Just about the time I get rid of it, we get a rain storm and it dilutes all the chemicals and the algae comes back. I am tired of fighting it and tired of paying for more chemicals!

The plumber made another visit today; I discovered a leak under the kitchen sink. It is in the faucet, so unless he can find a kit to rebuild it, I will have to buy another faucet. It's always something, isn't it? 

Two Things

Anyone need a 30+ year old pinata?  I suspect the candy inside was probably stale when we bought it -  but it might be still edible.  lol  This thing has been in a closet for at least 29 years, and I guess it is time to get rid of it.

*******

*Edit below:   You know how frustrating it can be when you are waiting for something to be delivered and it doesn't come?  I ordered a new cooktop last week from a company in Alabama, on the advice of my installer, instead of buying it locally, because the price was half on-line. YES, half, and shipping was only $15. They sent an email the next day saying it had been shipped. I waited for FedEx to arrive, but they didn't come and we had to go out to dinner that night. Lo and behold, on Sunday morning I found a sticky note on my front storm door saying that they had tried to deliver at 7:45 pm on Saturday night. Who delivers that late on Sat? On Tuesday, I called the 800 number to see if I could establish when they were coming. I couldn't get a human on the line, of course, but the robot told me they would deliver today (Wednesday). It is almost 6pm now, and I'm still waiting.  :-(

* It came at 6:45.....YAY!  Now I have to wait for the new vent hood to arrive, and I can call the installer. 

Would it Break Your Face if You Smiled?

A creature of habit, I am, and freely admit it.

I once ate a bowl of Life cereal (sometimes two) every day for ten years before I stopped. Nowadays, I am in the habit of eating in the same drive-through restaurant at least 3-4 times a week. The clerk who takes my money  (I think she must work 24/7 - she is always there) smiled at me once, I believe. The people who hand my food out the window never smile, including the owner/manager of the place. I think I might know why. I order from the "special value" menu, for two reasons. One:  I am cheap, and this meal only costs $3.23. Two: it is just the right amount of food for me;  if I order from the regular menu I am too full (I can't leave a crumb behind, can I?)

Do you think if I ordered from the regular menu I'd get a smile? I may try that one day soon (I'll leave off the fries.)

I ate at another branch of the same restaurant this week and the woman who gave me my food smiled bigger than I've ever seen anyone do it and gave me a resounding "Thank you!"  She made me want to go back there again, even though it is much further from my house than the other place. I almost parked the car and went inside to tell her manager, but I didn't. I should have, and I may do it yet.

Do you have an easy reply for people who show you no smiles? 

Between the Car, Gas Prices and My Teeth.......*

I'm in the poorhouse!! I sent in the paperwork to get new stickers for my car license plate back in April, and it finally dawned on me that I had not received them yet because the car hadn't been inspected in over a year.  DUH.  The rules in NC are that you can't get new stickers unless you have your car inspected and they receive a report of it from an official inspection station. So I've made an appointment to get the car inspected this morning and I am hoping against hope that they will not tell me I need a bunch of stuff done to the car so it can pass inspection. If you are the praying type, please send up a few for me, okay?

Gas prices are reported to have come down as much as 10 cents in the last few days. I sure hope it will keep up that downward trend. I had to have two things done to my car last month that saw my credit card jumping to record levels, and adding $40-50 worth of gas every week isn't helping me lower that balance much.     :-(

I will go to the dentist this afternoon to see what needs to be done with the broken tooth I suffered yesterday. It feels as though half of it is gone - so I suspect she will tell me I need a crown. Ouch; for the pain of the crown and the pain of paying for it. Wish me luck there, too, please.

*I didn't mention plumbing. We've discovered another leak under the house. It's always something.

Extra, Extra!! Read All About It!

Current Headline from The Dental Times:

"Molar Succumbs to Soggy Cereal"

Ms. Kenju reports that as she was eating her morning cereal, the normally crunchy bits became even crunchier when a molar broke and shattered into small bits, leaving what feels like a gaping hole in the normal bite structure, and requiring immediate action by the dentist - who, nevertheless - cannot get to it until tomorrow at 2:30 pm. (AAACK!)  She did what anyone would do in that situation; she went back to bed. 

Further reports as events warrant. 

More Old Books and a Bit O' Brunch

The cover of Milton's Poems; the gilding is worn, but it is still beautiful.

They sure don't make them like this anymore!

Published 1892

The cover of "Laddie". This book has no date in it. It is one of Henry Altemus' publications. 
I had 2 other scans to show, but they have disappeared. I'll get the hang of this new computer soon, I hope.

*****

We went to brunch today with a couple who live in a very fancy retirement club. I had what they offered as Eggs Benedict, but when it came, it had no Hollandaise sauce on it, and it was topped with a gracious amount of crab meat. It was excellent. I ordered bacon and fruit as sides, and they brought five slices of bacon and enough fruit of two people. I was not going to eat all of it, but of course, I did just that. I have decided that I will have to go to Duke for the rice diet if I can't get some control over my appetite in the near future. I have packed on the pounds this winter and I am not liking it one bit. None of my clothing fits and I am not going up another size!!  I wonder how many times I heard my mother say that? I sure didn't ever think I'd have to say it.

Be Careful What You Click!

Several days ago, as I was attempting to get familiar with my new computer, I received an update email from LinkedIn. I read through it to see who was doing what, and at one point, it suggested that I might want to connect to a person who had just joined LinkedIn (whom I already know). Now that I am semi-retired, joining and connecting to people on LinkedIn is sort of silly - but it might turn out to be a good thing - if I can give a good review for someone I know - so I do it.

I clicked on that person's name; expecting to send her (and her only) a request to connect, and lo and behold, it sent at least 50 requests to connect with people - all of whom are in one of my address books. I was so ticked off but there was nothing I could do about it, the damage had been done.

To my surprise, some of them joined LinkedIn.  A few turned me down nicely, citing various reasons why they didn't want to join that group, which I can certainly understand.  But one got downright testy about it and told me that as long as Obama was President of the US, he wouldn't join anything I was a part of. How do you like them apples??? I have written about this guy before. He was a good friend who ran around with a group I was in, and he was charming and funny and very nice back then. Now he has morphed into a nasty old man; one who is mad at the world for absolutely everything - and he blames it on Obama and his cronies.

He and I went round and round (via email) about 18-24 months ago. He kept sending me really nasty (and mostly untrue) stuff about Obama and I asked him to stop. I wanted us to simply agree to disagree about politics, but he can't handle the fact that I don't share his views. I thought I had deleted his email from my address books a long time ago, but I guess I missed one entry. Big mistake on my part. He was very miffed that I sent the request, and when I replied that it was sent in error, he said "Not on my part."

Well DUH. That much was obvious. So I replied again and told him I was sorry - and he thanked me for the apology. At that point, I blocked him from my email, hoping I will not have that problem ever again!

Lesson learned:   I will read all before I click!!

We Have Two Computers....

or we did until Monday, when my husband downloaded an email video and fried his.  He shut it down as soon as he saw the message about the malware, and when I got home, I re-booted to see if I could fix the problem. No way. The message I got says that the malware has infected my virus program (Avast) and cannot be deleted in the "normal" way - whatever that is.

The odd thing is that he sent the video to my computer (before he knew it was bad) and I opened it with no trouble. Luckily I decided not to forward it to anyone. It was a very funny video, so I'm not sure why I opted not to send it on - but I'm sure glad I didn't.

He called his trusty computer tech, so we hope to have it running again soon. Meanwhile, I will have to share mine with him....   :-/ as well as :-(

Sticks and Stones Will Break My Bones.....

A new blog has recently come to my attention. Taketheloadoffkittsie  has a  most interesting and candid post about being too heavy as a child, and what it does to your soul when people say things that are meant to  compliment and mollify, but devastate instead, due to hidden meaning. Go and read about it - I'll wait. 

I hate to admit that I have been guilty of saying some of the phrases that Colleen mentioned; such as...."You have a beautiful face...." to a woman whom I'd refer to as "large. " I will try never to say that again, especially to a child who might misinterpret what I meant to say.

I had the opposite problem. My mom was always first in line to tell me daily that I was too thin. My nicknames were slat-legs, skinny minnie, bag-o-bones and the like. Believe me, it hurt me just as much as it hurts a fat child to be wearing clothing labeled as "chubby" or to hear herself being called mean names referring to her weight. I was given ice cream, milkshakes, sodas, extra helpings of mashed potatoes and gravy, huge pieces of cake - and when all that failed to put a pound on me, she resorted to making me eat something that had to have been conjured up by the devil. 

Called "Wate-On", it was a thin wafer that tasted like cardboard that had a faint banana flavor, and it made me gag every time. I began to figure out ways I could get around chewing it, and I was very happy when mom had to leave the kitchen for some reason and I could stash it away  deep in the trash container , while pretending I had swallowed it. (The link takes you to a blog I found that mentioned the product and shows old advertisements for it. )

At age fifteen, I started smoking. It's a long story (I've told it before), and by the time I had smoked one pack, I was totally hooked. The cigarettes managed to keep my appetite suppressed and consequently I stayed thin all through high school, college and my early married years. At age thirty-eight, I quit smoking (hardest thing I have ever done) and thus began the end to my skinny years. I put on twenty pounds the first year, twenty pounds the second year and since then, I've gained a few every year. I joke that I was perfect (body-wise) for about two weeks in 1982, and then it all went downhill...lol

The point of telling you this and pointing you to Colleen's blog, is to hope that you will realize that what you say to a person about their weight (whether they are heavy or thin) affects them in ways you could never imagine, and it is especially hard for children. One tends to assume that a fat person is a glutton and that skinny people are or may be ill. Those assumptions are not necessarily true - although they could be.

Some of you are probably thinking that being skinny isn't a bad problem to have. I am here to tell you that it is just as devastating to a kid to be teased about being thin as it is to be obese.  Please think before you speak!

How Does that Happen?

I took five photos outside yesterday, to illustrate that spring is definitely on its way. I  uploaded them to Picasa as I always do, and clicked to blog them, and the photos disappeared! Completely disappeared - from Picasa AND from the photo files on the computer. I am baffled as to how that could happen. I know I could have clicked on something (unwittingly) to cause it - but I am 99.9% sure that didn't happen. DRAT! If I get time to take photos again later, you'll see them and if you see this - I didn't have time. Catch you later.

Quote of Note

Of all the preposterous assumptions of humanity over humanity, nothing exceeds most of the criticisms made on the habits of the poor by the well-housed, well-warmed, and well-fed.

Herman Melville, novelist and poet (1819-1891)

*****

and speaking of the poor, I don't know how anyone can buy  enough decent food these days.  Every time I go to the grocery, or Sam's, I notice elevated prices since the last visit.  It is most disconcerting to me and so I really feel sorry for those who have little to no income, especially those who have a family to feed.

As you are well aware, gas prices continue to inch up. The news on TV last night said we are "marching toward" our all-time high of over $4 per gallon. Something has to give, folks, or we will all be housebound, not by snow and ice, but because we can't afford to buy gasoline.

What are you doing, if anything, to offset the high prices lately? 

Can I Blame It on Illness?

This cold virus is trying to get the best of me, but I am on top of it. I went out this afternoon to buy some Muc*nex, as well as run some other errands. After I got in the car, I realized I had drycleaning to pick up also, so I went there first. I handed over the ticket and the guy came back to the car carrying a shirt on a hangar. "It was supposed to be folded", I said. He turned, after rolling his eyes and shaking his head, and entered the shop. When he came back, he said, "We'll get it folded for you and it will be ready when you come back." 

While he was in the shop, I discovered, much to my dismay, my purse was not in the car with me; I had left it in the garage. So I drove back home to get the purse - also, once again, forgetting that I should get our joint checkbook, which I needed to buy our prescriptions. Off I went, back to the drycleaner. This time they sent out a girl to speak to me. She had some story about how the "shirt-folder" was supposed to come to work at 2pm, and maybe she'd be there by 3pm, and I could come back (yet again.) BY that time, I was getting a bit peeved. So I drove off to do my other errands. I went to the bank, got a late lunch, went to the pharmacy and the grocer and then back to the drycleaners. This time the shirt was ready and I was very pleased to discover they would not charge me for it. (I don't think I would have paid anyway.)

Here's what made me the maddest about the day:  the main reason for my going out today was to pay a bill at Kohl's. Being sick for a week  kept me from noticing the bill was coming due (or that's my story anyway) and I really need to get to the store and pay it. Because I spent so much time doing other things, I forgot to go to Kohl's today, and I'll have to go tomorrow. Add that to forgetting my purse and the other checkbook, I'm bewildered.

Good thing I'm sick and can blame it on that - I'd sure hate to think my memory is that bad!

Creepin' Crud

I have it. It started in my nose and throat; who knows where it will end up? I have to go to court tomorrow, regarding the wreck we were in last January. I'll be back tomorrow to tell you about it.

It's Always Something...

An oil change and groceries were on my schedule today and when I got home, Mr. kenju met me in the garage and asked me to go under the house and listen for leaks. I walked through the yard with some trepidation; opened the door to the crawl space (which, fortunately, is a walk-in at that point) and heard not one leak but what seemed a deluge (and remember, I'm nearly deaf.) I went into the house saying...."Call Leonard."  

Leonard is our plumber. He bonded with us  almost immediately, since he and his wife  are (as I am) originally from the state of West Virginia. We've known him for several years now and he is always at the ready when we have a problem. He came around 6pm and this time, he brought his wife with him. Had I not known he was bringing his wife, I would have thought she was his daughter. This woman looks to be all of about 25 and I found out she has children older than that! She is originally from a town near Huntington, WV, about 60 miles from where I grew up. We enjoyed talking to her while he was under the house. It took him about 2 hours to make the repairs. I don't yet know what the damage was (money-wise) but I'm sure I'll find out tomorrow. I didn't ask Mr. kenju before he went up to bed - because I didn't want to lose sleep over it.

I just had a weird snack. I looked in the fridge for something I could eat quickly. I put a handful of naked pita chips in a bowl and added some leftover  crumbled pepper boursin cheese and threw a handful of blackberries on top. It was so good that I wish I had more!

Sheeeesh, Woman!!

Sitting in the parking lot of a fast-food restaurant today, I was jarred by the  door of the red Explorer in the slot next to me. The woman opened her back door and literally smashed it into my car - with me sitting there in it - plain as day.  When I opened my window and said "Geeze, lady, try not to hit my car next time!", she said "I couldn't help it."  The smirk on her face made me want to wipe it off, but you know where that would have gotten me  (jail, probably.)