The 15th of May and snow. Yes, dear friends, it snowed in East Lansing today. Not too much but enough to ask what the hell is going on. It has been an unseasonable spring, as far as I am concerned. Last night, well, Saturday night, I had to cover up some plants outside and in the morning there was hail the size of peas on the sheet. Yes, I tucked my plants in like children in the safety of their beds.
Speaking of beds, here it is Monday morning and I have a full day ahead of me yet I can't seem to find any rest. I have taken two sleeping pills, and yes, I am allowed. Nothing. Not tired. I think this weather thing is making me a tad depressed. It should be sunny, maybe not super warm but pleasant. Not sleeting and hailing like a mother and forcing me to keep the heat on or else the cats might sue me for mistreatment. Gonif Cat is waiting under the covers and I am waiting for the sleepy bugs to overtake me. I have my alarm set for 6:00 a.m. as I want to get out and have a walk tomorrow before doing some running around for and with JB. Have to get her email situation taken care of. Hopefully our computer center can facilitate a resolution. Off to HR to get a resume put in for her daughter. The resume a production courtesy of Capitol City Informatics. Another fine feature of the entrepreneurial undertaking. So far it has netted me a case of Coca Cola and a lunch. Not bad for an hour worth of work.
Tomorrow I think I will work on getting a website developed for me and also for my landscaper who is really just starting out in his line of work. Hopefully he will be out tomorrow to finish a project for me. Then we can talk about a website design. Another fine service of Capitol City Informatics. Go ahead...Google Capitol City Informatics...oh the hits you will get.
Right now I am more bored than tired. Sometimes sleeping seems a waste of time. I am eagerly awaiting the morning for my walk. And all this is like wishing my life away. Must...relish...every...moment...and thus sleeping seems suspect.
Gonif has joined the other cats on the couch. I think of all the work around the house I should do. I really need more bookcases in the music/cats room. So many books and so little time.
Monday, if all goes according to plan, the authority processing will be primarily outsourced and I will have very little work to do for the summer. Oh, I have projects but at one point I thought if I could afford to take a month off without pay then the summer might be more enjoyable. Must ponder that a little. I don't want to take all my vacation time. The processing of the authority file could take as little as three months. Or, and here is the kicker, longer. I could use some of that time to actually work on my business, which will now include website design. How nice July might be if I didn't have to go to work. Yes, I can wrap my mind around retirement. A new stage in life. Maybe talk to Dan about taking a month off. Actually twenty some off days as I need to work once in a while to keep my health insurance without resorting to COBRA.
Well, gang, the Restoril is finally working and I am getting droopy. Look for me tomorrow morning walking the streets of East Lansing.
Monday, May 16, 2016
Saturday, May 14, 2016
The rise of the amateur and the angry whte vote
Yes, it is one in the same, Donald Drumpf, AKA The Donald. I have been pondering how incredible his ascendancy is. Back in January I wrote about the rise of the amateur and in particular the rise of the amateur musicians who fancy themselves true musicians and they lack any kind of theoretical background. Well, what we are seeing now in Mr. Trump is the rise of another type of amateur. A true amateur, not merely a dilettante. And a huckster, a showman and a buffoon. And factor into this the angry white vote, the voters who feel disenfranchised by their shrinking majority, the latent and overt racism and fascist inclinations. Yes, all this has given us Donald Trump. His followers are what is the worse about this country. Let them spout their hatred of immigrants, the xenophobia. And harken back to the mid-nineteenth century and the xenophobia of the Know Nothing Party. And think for a minute what the name of that party proudly boasts. Know Nothing (and they did). I think we are seeing the rebirth of the Know Nothings in the guise of a populist movement that has more in common with the KKK than with the Republican Party, the Grand Old Party, the party that forever banished the insidious taint of slavery. That taint of slavery that is still with us today. The Republicans spout crazed theories about reversed discrimination but what you really hear is them losing their grip on the locus of power. Having an African American as a president has not magically eliminated the racist overtones in the national conversation. They can proudly point to that presidency while holding the police state of Ferguson, Missouri intact.
All this has me worried. As a student of history I am overwhelmed by Mr. Trump's politics. His shameful pandering to the lowest common denominator. His statement, which honest to God was "I love the uneducated" should have been considered slanderous and not a compliment for his supporters to embrace. They are the Know Nothings. They spew venom in the name of free speech but it is very much akin to yelling fire in a crowded theater.
Let's consider the oxymoron that is Trump and his followers. Here is a billionaire who has played the system brilliantly, going through bankruptcy not once, twice or three times. Four bankruptcies (five if you count his moral state). Yet his followers adore his role as an outsider and a shrewd businessman. Conniving is more like it.
Now let it be said I am a Hillary supporter. I like Bernie but not enough to vote for him. Yes, Hillary is a little too hawkish for me, but Bernie is a little too pie in the sky. Here is my platform. I think we should abolish the graduated income tax and replace it with a 10% flat tax (Shades of Henry George). I would love to see health care reform in the guise of a single payer plan, much like Medicare. I would love to see universal free education through college. A 10% flat tax with no loop holes would provide the revenue to rebuild out crumbling infrastructure and guarantee free college and health care for all Americans. A flat tax would be more equitable and would ensure the wealthy would actually pay their fair share. Bernie is the idea man but I believe Hillary could execute the changes necessary to rebuild our country. We need to remake America, not make it great again.
What country gave us the notion of universal education (Hint: it isn't in Europe)? What country gave us the New Deal that built this nation back from the brink of poverty? I have been to Europe, East and West, and I am amazed by their progressive models that they have liberally taken from the American Ideals. Granted they have a more homogeneous population than the United States but we need to use that diversity to our betterment. Not exclude whole segments of the population from basic human and humane rights. We need a Roosevelt and not a Trump. We need anyone but him.
Trump, again, is a laughing stock in Europe and our neighbor to the north, O' Canada, who are proudly building their wall to keep out the flood of Americans they will see flocking to their borders if Trump is elected (See: www.maplematch.com ). The Right is even blaming the Left for the rise of Trump but, baby, it is all on them. The Know Nothings.
What we need to do to avoid a Trump presidency, which might see the end of the Republican Party as we know it, is to GET OUT AND VOTE and GET OUT THE VOTE. I am hoping I am preaching to the choir. Enough with the name calling of Trump. Let us engage as a country to defeat the evil empire of ANGRY WHITE MEN... I am often criticized for my liberal politics, my PC stances but I hold them near and dear. I believe this country has better things to do than to devolve fifty years, nay sixty years, for the good old days of the 1950s. The days when there was segregation and Jim Crow Laws. And yet under an African American president we saw the gutting of voting rights laws. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was needed and still is needed to ensure all Americans, regardless of race, gender, or economic state, be treated equally UNDER THE LAW. We need to rekindle that spirit and build on what is good with America. Get out and vote.
All this has me worried. As a student of history I am overwhelmed by Mr. Trump's politics. His shameful pandering to the lowest common denominator. His statement, which honest to God was "I love the uneducated" should have been considered slanderous and not a compliment for his supporters to embrace. They are the Know Nothings. They spew venom in the name of free speech but it is very much akin to yelling fire in a crowded theater.
Let's consider the oxymoron that is Trump and his followers. Here is a billionaire who has played the system brilliantly, going through bankruptcy not once, twice or three times. Four bankruptcies (five if you count his moral state). Yet his followers adore his role as an outsider and a shrewd businessman. Conniving is more like it.
Now let it be said I am a Hillary supporter. I like Bernie but not enough to vote for him. Yes, Hillary is a little too hawkish for me, but Bernie is a little too pie in the sky. Here is my platform. I think we should abolish the graduated income tax and replace it with a 10% flat tax (Shades of Henry George). I would love to see health care reform in the guise of a single payer plan, much like Medicare. I would love to see universal free education through college. A 10% flat tax with no loop holes would provide the revenue to rebuild out crumbling infrastructure and guarantee free college and health care for all Americans. A flat tax would be more equitable and would ensure the wealthy would actually pay their fair share. Bernie is the idea man but I believe Hillary could execute the changes necessary to rebuild our country. We need to remake America, not make it great again.
What country gave us the notion of universal education (Hint: it isn't in Europe)? What country gave us the New Deal that built this nation back from the brink of poverty? I have been to Europe, East and West, and I am amazed by their progressive models that they have liberally taken from the American Ideals. Granted they have a more homogeneous population than the United States but we need to use that diversity to our betterment. Not exclude whole segments of the population from basic human and humane rights. We need a Roosevelt and not a Trump. We need anyone but him.
Trump, again, is a laughing stock in Europe and our neighbor to the north, O' Canada, who are proudly building their wall to keep out the flood of Americans they will see flocking to their borders if Trump is elected (See: www.maplematch.com ). The Right is even blaming the Left for the rise of Trump but, baby, it is all on them. The Know Nothings.
What we need to do to avoid a Trump presidency, which might see the end of the Republican Party as we know it, is to GET OUT AND VOTE and GET OUT THE VOTE. I am hoping I am preaching to the choir. Enough with the name calling of Trump. Let us engage as a country to defeat the evil empire of ANGRY WHITE MEN... I am often criticized for my liberal politics, my PC stances but I hold them near and dear. I believe this country has better things to do than to devolve fifty years, nay sixty years, for the good old days of the 1950s. The days when there was segregation and Jim Crow Laws. And yet under an African American president we saw the gutting of voting rights laws. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was needed and still is needed to ensure all Americans, regardless of race, gender, or economic state, be treated equally UNDER THE LAW. We need to rekindle that spirit and build on what is good with America. Get out and vote.
Tuesday, May 10, 2016
Old Duffers and Heaven
I have two Old Duffers in my life now. First and original Old Duffer (O.D.) is a gentleman from my synagogue who fancies himself a competent guitarist. Tonight he came over and tuned his guitar to something other than the the actual notes. His G string, you should pardon the expression, was so flat and he kept tuning to that flat. He also plays so fast, regardless of the song, and I don't know if he is playing me by playing so badly and expecting me to play badly as well. Once a week I endure this and some weeks are better than others but tonight won the grand prize. I finally had to stop and say my hands hurt and he still played on. He and his wife want me to join them for the local community sing and I have been avoiding that but in June I will have run out of excuses to not attend. Singing with a bunch of old folkies singing off key is not an exercise I willingly would participate. But I must as heaven awaits.
O.D. 2.0 is a gentleman down the street from me. He is Oakwood natural in a neighborhood that conflates Oakwoods. This gentleman winters in East Lansing and summers in Empire, Michigan that is. He is quite the character and full of bombast. He is trying to obtain a Currier and Ives lithograph for the Empire Historical Society and Marching Band. I found some copies and he seems interested. I love researching that sort of thing and as long as the Coca Cola flows I has help him in his quest. I might go visit the O.D. 2.0 tomorrow after the missed reflexology session concludes. I need to know exactly what he is searching for and how much he is prepared to pay. The original print, a side wheeler steam ship name the Empire State, is in the Library of Congress, and is public domain. I could load it to a flash drive and get him a print at the library's copy center. There are also other options for prints but mine in the cheapest. So I need to speak to him about his hopes, fears, dreams and desires. He is an old fashioned gent who honors the Happy Hour with a cocktail or two. Or three. Right now, in addition to his quest for a Currier and Ives, he is reassembling pallets so as to make strawberry planters. He is the owner of the house with the children's garden that seems only adults plant and tend. Four raised beds loaded with all matter of matter.
I spent much of the day trying to catch up but ended up running in place. The lists continue to daunt me. So I took time to search for lithographs and other manner of Empire stuff. Excelsior and all that. I do so like spending other peoples' money and he seems to enjoy spreading the wealth. The researcher in me takes pride in being able to locate the unlocatable. It pleases me to no end, unlike O.D. who can't carry a tune in a bucket to coin a phrase. Oh, I can still hear that annoying G string flat for all the world to see. He even had an electronic tuner, a Snark, as in the hunting of the Snark, and still managed to mangle the tuning. Why I continue to do this I do not know but it is like watching an accident happening in slow motion and I can't turn away. He wants me to play along with him at a function at the synagogue which scares me. His rationale for having me play with him at the synagogue is that if I play loud than he it would appear that his is playing well. Yikes. And I keep doing this to myself. O.D. 2.0 is a far more pleasurable pursuit.
Oh, well, it be time for the bed and/or maybe a yogurt to calm Ursula down. She was better today with the influx of the new medication which I am actually taking for a change. And so I bid happy trails to another day.
O.D. 2.0 is a gentleman down the street from me. He is Oakwood natural in a neighborhood that conflates Oakwoods. This gentleman winters in East Lansing and summers in Empire, Michigan that is. He is quite the character and full of bombast. He is trying to obtain a Currier and Ives lithograph for the Empire Historical Society and Marching Band. I found some copies and he seems interested. I love researching that sort of thing and as long as the Coca Cola flows I has help him in his quest. I might go visit the O.D. 2.0 tomorrow after the missed reflexology session concludes. I need to know exactly what he is searching for and how much he is prepared to pay. The original print, a side wheeler steam ship name the Empire State, is in the Library of Congress, and is public domain. I could load it to a flash drive and get him a print at the library's copy center. There are also other options for prints but mine in the cheapest. So I need to speak to him about his hopes, fears, dreams and desires. He is an old fashioned gent who honors the Happy Hour with a cocktail or two. Or three. Right now, in addition to his quest for a Currier and Ives, he is reassembling pallets so as to make strawberry planters. He is the owner of the house with the children's garden that seems only adults plant and tend. Four raised beds loaded with all matter of matter.
I spent much of the day trying to catch up but ended up running in place. The lists continue to daunt me. So I took time to search for lithographs and other manner of Empire stuff. Excelsior and all that. I do so like spending other peoples' money and he seems to enjoy spreading the wealth. The researcher in me takes pride in being able to locate the unlocatable. It pleases me to no end, unlike O.D. who can't carry a tune in a bucket to coin a phrase. Oh, I can still hear that annoying G string flat for all the world to see. He even had an electronic tuner, a Snark, as in the hunting of the Snark, and still managed to mangle the tuning. Why I continue to do this I do not know but it is like watching an accident happening in slow motion and I can't turn away. He wants me to play along with him at a function at the synagogue which scares me. His rationale for having me play with him at the synagogue is that if I play loud than he it would appear that his is playing well. Yikes. And I keep doing this to myself. O.D. 2.0 is a far more pleasurable pursuit.
Oh, well, it be time for the bed and/or maybe a yogurt to calm Ursula down. She was better today with the influx of the new medication which I am actually taking for a change. And so I bid happy trails to another day.
Monday, May 9, 2016
The bungee cords
This neighborhood is lousy with raccoons. Just moments ago a rather ambitions raccoon gained access to my garbage by eluding the bungee cords I had placed on the can to keep the critters out. In the cold glare of the motion light this little bandit got in the can and out again, washing his finds in my bird bath. Once I saw the top of the can moving I knew I must get another set of bungee cords. Looks like a trip to Ace is the place after the Old Duffer and I get done with our music tomorrow evening. Maybe it will be nice enough to play on the porch.
I had today off, as I will have all Mondays off until September. I totally forgot a reflexology session, going out for coffee instead. When I returned home there were numerous calls from the massage lady. I called and apologized profusely. I had her set to come on Tuesday and not Monday. I was so sure it was Tuesday that I made arrangements not to play with the Old Duffer. Alas, I blew it. Massage Lady will be here Wednesday and the Old Duffer will be here tomorrow.
I have to confess that my ulcer, Ursula, is rather busy tonight causing me a great deal of discomfort. I dare not take any more antacids or my Protonix. So up I sit waiting for the pain to abate. Had me some yogurt while I watched the raccoon, whom we must call Rocky, digging through the trash. Yes, I am too uncomfortable to lay down and go to sleep. I just wish Ursula would lay down and go to sleep. How shall I describe the discomfort? It is like a hot poker running from my navel to my back. Sitting up is helping. I did something stupid and now I am paying for it. I neglected to take my ulcer meds for a few days and OUCH...I hurt. I have done nothing but feed her yogurt and rice pudding and nothing seems to help. Wish I was me a raccoon with a cast iron stomach. I go back on June 10th for another endoscopy which I know will show that the ulcer Ursula has not healed.
When I finally did get home from coffee I discovered Brad was at my home putting up shelves in the basement, post deluge, and the basement being dry. Brad and Gilbert even put away the things that were on the floor onto the shelves, thus saving me a great deal of time. I need to get a few things down to the basement and up on the shelves but it can wait until the weekend, I decided I like the idea of being retired, at least in just spring. I love having the days to myself to grab coffee (and miss an appointment), and putter in the garden. I loved going for a long walk this morning, ending at Kroger's with a purchase of a brisket which I slow cooked all day and had for dinner. I think tomorrow it shall be barbecued beef sandwiches. I almost regret having to go to work on Tuesday. But I shan't retire as of yet. Must make a dent to some debits before I can rest. So work I must. Plus a few people, not many mind you but a few people that matter, have said they would be too sad if I retired. Okay, I'll stay.
Tomorrow I can catch up on work. Go to lunch with the iPal. Home to play folk music with the Old Duffer and if it hasn't rained water in the garden.
On Mother's Day a number of adults from the neighborhood prepared four large raised beds for the planting of the children's garden, the children being otherwise occupied. Yes, we adults were playing in the soil, I with my trusty Garden Weasel turning the soil and working in the fertilizer. Others coming behind me planting the vegetables. For two hours I toiled in the sun and pretended to be a grown up. This will result me me being able to take veggies from the garden come the eventual harvest. And I stopped by to see Tom, another old duffer but not The Old Duffer, today and spoke with him at length about his strawberry planting project. Quite a character he. Had his 80th birthday last Monday and we gathered on his lawn to celebrate, he flagging down cars to have more people join us, including Brandon the UPS driver. So this gets back to the garden, like Woodstock, and if it doesn't rain much Tuesday we will both have to water in the new plants.
Well, Ursula seems to be calming down so I think I will take this opportunity to lay down and listen to Vin Scully call the Dodgers' game and hopefully drift off to sleep. Let us hope the motion lights don't go off again with a return visit by the raccoons.
Adieu
I had today off, as I will have all Mondays off until September. I totally forgot a reflexology session, going out for coffee instead. When I returned home there were numerous calls from the massage lady. I called and apologized profusely. I had her set to come on Tuesday and not Monday. I was so sure it was Tuesday that I made arrangements not to play with the Old Duffer. Alas, I blew it. Massage Lady will be here Wednesday and the Old Duffer will be here tomorrow.
I have to confess that my ulcer, Ursula, is rather busy tonight causing me a great deal of discomfort. I dare not take any more antacids or my Protonix. So up I sit waiting for the pain to abate. Had me some yogurt while I watched the raccoon, whom we must call Rocky, digging through the trash. Yes, I am too uncomfortable to lay down and go to sleep. I just wish Ursula would lay down and go to sleep. How shall I describe the discomfort? It is like a hot poker running from my navel to my back. Sitting up is helping. I did something stupid and now I am paying for it. I neglected to take my ulcer meds for a few days and OUCH...I hurt. I have done nothing but feed her yogurt and rice pudding and nothing seems to help. Wish I was me a raccoon with a cast iron stomach. I go back on June 10th for another endoscopy which I know will show that the ulcer Ursula has not healed.
When I finally did get home from coffee I discovered Brad was at my home putting up shelves in the basement, post deluge, and the basement being dry. Brad and Gilbert even put away the things that were on the floor onto the shelves, thus saving me a great deal of time. I need to get a few things down to the basement and up on the shelves but it can wait until the weekend, I decided I like the idea of being retired, at least in just spring. I love having the days to myself to grab coffee (and miss an appointment), and putter in the garden. I loved going for a long walk this morning, ending at Kroger's with a purchase of a brisket which I slow cooked all day and had for dinner. I think tomorrow it shall be barbecued beef sandwiches. I almost regret having to go to work on Tuesday. But I shan't retire as of yet. Must make a dent to some debits before I can rest. So work I must. Plus a few people, not many mind you but a few people that matter, have said they would be too sad if I retired. Okay, I'll stay.
Tomorrow I can catch up on work. Go to lunch with the iPal. Home to play folk music with the Old Duffer and if it hasn't rained water in the garden.
On Mother's Day a number of adults from the neighborhood prepared four large raised beds for the planting of the children's garden, the children being otherwise occupied. Yes, we adults were playing in the soil, I with my trusty Garden Weasel turning the soil and working in the fertilizer. Others coming behind me planting the vegetables. For two hours I toiled in the sun and pretended to be a grown up. This will result me me being able to take veggies from the garden come the eventual harvest. And I stopped by to see Tom, another old duffer but not The Old Duffer, today and spoke with him at length about his strawberry planting project. Quite a character he. Had his 80th birthday last Monday and we gathered on his lawn to celebrate, he flagging down cars to have more people join us, including Brandon the UPS driver. So this gets back to the garden, like Woodstock, and if it doesn't rain much Tuesday we will both have to water in the new plants.
Well, Ursula seems to be calming down so I think I will take this opportunity to lay down and listen to Vin Scully call the Dodgers' game and hopefully drift off to sleep. Let us hope the motion lights don't go off again with a return visit by the raccoons.
Adieu
Saturday, May 7, 2016
Spring has sprung
Alright this is my favorite time of year. The new leaves bursting out verdant against an azure sky. I live for this.
In the neighborhood tomorrow the children are to plant their garden at a neighbor's house. The "grown-ups", me included, watch the kids and have a party. I have an extra pepper plant to add to the mix. I feel like I really belong here. I like that I get included in these weekly gatherings.
I have two Hydrangeas yet to plant and and I know where I shall plant them. I still have the Jewels of the Desert to plants (six of them to form a border for the rose garden) but I am waiting for Jason to put in the new edging. The tulips and daffodils are still in bloom. And amidst this seasonal hustle and bustle the boys are in repose. Amidst this glorious day looms the promise of another glorious day tomorrow. I have turned the furnace off for the season. So what if it gets cold tonight. The boys will keep me safe and warm. Oh, I might close a window or two but the furnace will remain off until at least late September. The season is spring and the reason is moot. The season is spring and all is right with the world. The season is spring and the boys sleep in contentment. The fans and dehumidifier are gone from the basement and it is dry. Yankel has resumed sleeping in the bed and watching the gold finches from the window. The season is spring and Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy...all is right
Thursday, May 5, 2016
Then there is Yankel Cat
Well, Sunrise Restoration has a great number of fans and dehumidifiers in the basement and the noise is akin to a small plane taking off. And poor Mr. Yankel Cat was beside himself. He spent Tuesday night yawaling at me as if imploring me to make the noise go away. So at 2:30 a.m. I went and sat with him in the front hall where I noticed he had worked himself into such a tizzy that he was literally warm to the touch. Finally by 5:00 he had calmed down and his body temperature had returned to normal. I did worry about him yesterday at home with the noise but he finally figured out it was more quiet in the living room and that is where he slept last night. No nocturnal emissions of super sonic meows and that is a good thing.
Today brings an eye exam to see if some medication I take for arthritis is fuzzing my eyesight. Weather permitting I hope to plant the rest of my plants today and the frost be damned. I think I will plant the hydrangeas in large pots. I want to get the herbs and tomatoes in this weekend and maybe go and get some pepper plants and two more tomato plants. Jason the Gardener is doing a fabulous job cleaning up the front yard as well as the back. I plan on having him plant bamboo as a privacy fence along the driveway and maybe he can get that done today.
I must say the Magic Plastic Tuna has been behaving herself of late so consequently I have been behaving myself which is doubly good as my supervisor is gone for a week and I really have no one to bitch to except via email.
A quick recap of the week. Flooded basement, flummoxed cat, and MPT quietude. And I learned a new word, thanks to the trivia contest my team won last week (didn't I tell you I would be a winner?): crepuscular, as in rabbits are active at twilight so they are crepuscular. And if they are built like a tank they are muscular crepuscular rabbits.
Today brings an eye exam to see if some medication I take for arthritis is fuzzing my eyesight. Weather permitting I hope to plant the rest of my plants today and the frost be damned. I think I will plant the hydrangeas in large pots. I want to get the herbs and tomatoes in this weekend and maybe go and get some pepper plants and two more tomato plants. Jason the Gardener is doing a fabulous job cleaning up the front yard as well as the back. I plan on having him plant bamboo as a privacy fence along the driveway and maybe he can get that done today.
I must say the Magic Plastic Tuna has been behaving herself of late so consequently I have been behaving myself which is doubly good as my supervisor is gone for a week and I really have no one to bitch to except via email.
A quick recap of the week. Flooded basement, flummoxed cat, and MPT quietude. And I learned a new word, thanks to the trivia contest my team won last week (didn't I tell you I would be a winner?): crepuscular, as in rabbits are active at twilight so they are crepuscular. And if they are built like a tank they are muscular crepuscular rabbits.
Tuesday, May 3, 2016
...and then all hell broke loose
Gentle Reader,
Monday I began my summer schedule which is Mondays off until September. So last Monday I was going to the basement to put a stool away only to find that the basement was flooded about two inches deep. I did what I usually do, which is to panic, and panic I did. I finally regained enough composure to call the Sunrise Construction and Restoration (517-351-4200) (and yes that is a shameless endorsement). They were out with three trucks within the hour sucking up the water and removing the waterlogged contents of the basement. Still three hours later the water was still coming in through the drain. Thankfully the plumber (PAE Plumbing...contact me for the umber) was out by 3:45 and proceeded to snake the drain to the street. What he found was gobs and gobs of flushable (which are not truly flushable) wipes and since i never use the darlings I am certain it was a gift from the former homeowner. I had to file my first insurance claim and I have a $1,000 deductible with a $5,000 total payout. As I sit here writing I can hear the whir of the fans drying out the basement. The floor is ruin and the paneling (did I ever tell you how much I hate paneling?) is ruined. I was planning a basement refinish in a few years and now it looks like that rainy day is here. My one day off morphed into two. And to tell you the truth I am exhausted from dealing with this.
They were having a "petting zoo" with dwarf Nigerian goats at the library today and I really wanted to see them. Problem was I had therapy at 1 so I suggested we take a walk and see the goats and she was all for the idea. It was a beautiful day for a walk. In the end I walked a total of almost nine miles today. Therapist and I headed back to her office and we talked some more. Actually it was the best therapy session I have had in a while. Still I am wasted away with having to deal with the crisis. I finally got a nap in tonight and then had a very late dinner of a Bell's Pizza. As the fans are sucking all the electricity in the house I am afraid to use the microwave as there has already been one surge protector blown. The fan noise is especially loud in the bedroom. God knows how I can sleep tonight. Maybe I will call Aunt Marilyn and get some solace before bed. Seems like a good night to take a sleeper.
Tomorrow is the last symphony of the season and Sophie and I shall attend. Prior to dinner I have an appointment with the rheumatologist. Then dinner out (Red Lobster...another shameless plug). I am hoping the basement is dried out enough by tomorrow so I can have Brad start the restoration, like tearing out the panel and and what is behind it and treat as if there is mold. The floor can wait. This year's housing fixer upper is redoing the front porch with new wood and screens and then repairing and replacing the woodwork around the exterior of the house as well as having it painted. Brad did my house remodel before I moved in and he is the best contractor (and honest) I have ever come across (490-4920) (yes I know). I must promise myself to have that drain snaked once a year, preferably on May Day. Oh, God, oh, God, oh God...what a mess.
So now it is late and I need to get some rest as I am actually going to work tomorrow. I will hope when I come home the fans will have done their job. And I need to relax and get to work in the rose garden. I planted a few small plants today as well as a rose bush. I still have much to plant and I am thinking this weekend will be ideal. I do believe (I BELIEVE!!!) the danger of frost in the city has been passed and it is safe to plant my perennials and s few butterfly bushes as well as another rose bush. I think the tomatoes will be better of in the garden than sitting in a box on my porch with all the herbs.
Well, my buddy Yankel Cat says it is time for a pill and bed. And who am I to argue with a twenty four pound cat?
Monday I began my summer schedule which is Mondays off until September. So last Monday I was going to the basement to put a stool away only to find that the basement was flooded about two inches deep. I did what I usually do, which is to panic, and panic I did. I finally regained enough composure to call the Sunrise Construction and Restoration (517-351-4200) (and yes that is a shameless endorsement). They were out with three trucks within the hour sucking up the water and removing the waterlogged contents of the basement. Still three hours later the water was still coming in through the drain. Thankfully the plumber (PAE Plumbing...contact me for the umber) was out by 3:45 and proceeded to snake the drain to the street. What he found was gobs and gobs of flushable (which are not truly flushable) wipes and since i never use the darlings I am certain it was a gift from the former homeowner. I had to file my first insurance claim and I have a $1,000 deductible with a $5,000 total payout. As I sit here writing I can hear the whir of the fans drying out the basement. The floor is ruin and the paneling (did I ever tell you how much I hate paneling?) is ruined. I was planning a basement refinish in a few years and now it looks like that rainy day is here. My one day off morphed into two. And to tell you the truth I am exhausted from dealing with this.
They were having a "petting zoo" with dwarf Nigerian goats at the library today and I really wanted to see them. Problem was I had therapy at 1 so I suggested we take a walk and see the goats and she was all for the idea. It was a beautiful day for a walk. In the end I walked a total of almost nine miles today. Therapist and I headed back to her office and we talked some more. Actually it was the best therapy session I have had in a while. Still I am wasted away with having to deal with the crisis. I finally got a nap in tonight and then had a very late dinner of a Bell's Pizza. As the fans are sucking all the electricity in the house I am afraid to use the microwave as there has already been one surge protector blown. The fan noise is especially loud in the bedroom. God knows how I can sleep tonight. Maybe I will call Aunt Marilyn and get some solace before bed. Seems like a good night to take a sleeper.
Tomorrow is the last symphony of the season and Sophie and I shall attend. Prior to dinner I have an appointment with the rheumatologist. Then dinner out (Red Lobster...another shameless plug). I am hoping the basement is dried out enough by tomorrow so I can have Brad start the restoration, like tearing out the panel and and what is behind it and treat as if there is mold. The floor can wait. This year's housing fixer upper is redoing the front porch with new wood and screens and then repairing and replacing the woodwork around the exterior of the house as well as having it painted. Brad did my house remodel before I moved in and he is the best contractor (and honest) I have ever come across (490-4920) (yes I know). I must promise myself to have that drain snaked once a year, preferably on May Day. Oh, God, oh, God, oh God...what a mess.
So now it is late and I need to get some rest as I am actually going to work tomorrow. I will hope when I come home the fans will have done their job. And I need to relax and get to work in the rose garden. I planted a few small plants today as well as a rose bush. I still have much to plant and I am thinking this weekend will be ideal. I do believe (I BELIEVE!!!) the danger of frost in the city has been passed and it is safe to plant my perennials and s few butterfly bushes as well as another rose bush. I think the tomatoes will be better of in the garden than sitting in a box on my porch with all the herbs.
Well, my buddy Yankel Cat says it is time for a pill and bed. And who am I to argue with a twenty four pound cat?
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