Be Careful What You Wish For!

Today's high temperature was: 19 degrees

Sunny most of the day

================================

I ended my post last night saying that perhaps today would be a more exciting day to write about.  Well--read the title of this post once again.

EGADS!!!!!

I woke up at 4:00 this morning.  Gosh--it felt awfully cold.  I turn the thermostat down at night, but it felt a lot colder than 68 degrees.  

I went to the bathroom--it felt like I was in an outhouse!  The seat was so cold!  I wandered out into the living room to check the thermostat and it was 53 degrees.  I thumped on the wall to see if the thermostat would come on.  Then I turned it to off and back to on.  I could hear the furnace start up--but it clicked twice and shut down.  Something was broken and I thought it was probably the starter.

I turned on the oven--which isn't a real good thing to do, but.....stood and shivered and started shaking.  I don't know if it was from the cold or fear.  I got dressed real quick and fed the cats, got my hot cocoa and called my local furnace repair guys--well actually AAA Service fixes just about everything.  I had them fix my dryer last spring.  I put in a message on their 24 hour emergency hot line.

The minute I saw Dar open her side blinds, I called her and asked if I could borrow her electric heater.  She went into panic mode.

"OHMYGOD--are you okay?"

"Yes...I'm fine.  I have called the repair service and they should call back with an appointment time by eight."

"OH JUDY--THE ICE IS SO BAD OUT ON THE STREET.  I JUST DON'T.....WELL WAIT--I WILL GET DRESSED AND DRIVE OVER WITH THE HEATER."

"No...I will walk up and get it.  I'll be there in a couple of minutes."

"Oh--I don't want you to fall and break something."

"I am not going to fall.  Unlock your front door...I'll be right over."  and I hung up the phone.

It was 4 degrees outside, so I DID put on my ski hat, coat and gloves and walked  slide up to her place.

She handed me her heater, said a few things that I didn't even hear, I told her thanks and slide back home.

Let me tell you--that little heater was about as much use as "tits on a boar hog".  I cranked it up as high as it would go with  high fan, turned on the oscillator and an hour later it was up to 57 degrees.  So, I shut it down, turned the oven back on to 350 and opened the door.

I got a call at 8:00 that a repair guy would be here before 10:00...and he was.  Nice man--Lance was his name.

He thought the problem was the starter--I had it replaced five years ago.  Sure enough the starter was burned right in half.  The blower wasn't working right either, so he checked that out--I needed a new one--I could see where a couple of wires had burned off.  Then he wanted to check out the heat exchanger--the "mother board" of the furnace.  He had a digital read-out with a long scope with a camera on the end.

He went into the depths of that furnace like he was doing a colonoscopy!!!  He said, "Oh oh."  (Don't you hate to hear those words?)

There, very visible even to me was a crack--on the inside of the heat exchanger, on the left..another one showed up when he moved the camera to the other side and a tiny hole showed itself on the back.

"What could have caused this?"  I asked

:Overheating and age.  They don't exactly put top of the line furnaces in this kinds of homes."

"Yeah--I know.  "

"Plus, they are made to last about twelve--thirteen years.  How old is yours?"

"Twenty.  What if I just replace the starter and the blower and let the heat exchanger go?"

"The cracks in the heat exchanger are just about ready to break through, plus that little hole already is broken through.  You can get carbon monoxide poisoning."

"Yeah.   I know."

In the last eleven years, I have put three new draft motors on the furnace.  Two new starters, an new gas injector and two new thermostats.  Close to two thousand dollars worth of repairs.

"So what is the cost for repairs?"

"The furnace will have to be taken apart--eighty dollars an hour for labor (just like at the garage repair place), then a new blower, heat exchanger, and starter for sure, unless we find anything else wrong.  I don't think we will..but when you get into the furnace itself....you just never know.  

"How much would a whole new furnace cost?"

"We can get one for you, just like this one, for around three thousand dollars."

(I could feel the tears start to sting.)

"I have put in a lot of the energy-fuel efficient ones in this park.  I can get you names of your neighbors if you want to call them and ask how they would rate that furnace.  It is much smaller and more efficient.  You will get a two hundred-fifty dollar rebate from the gas company and a hundred dollar rebate from the electric company and your gas bill will probably be half of what it is now."

"How much is that one?"

"Close to four thousand dollars."

"I need to sit down and think for a minute."

"Okay--I'll go out to my truck and get a new starter and a blower.  I'll be right back."

.So I grabbed a Kleenex and sat down in my recliner.  I prayed, "God please help me" and I cried and I sat.  Lance came back in about fifteen minutes later.  He handed me several phone numbers of people in the park.  I called a guy who lives up the street.  I don't know him, he doesn't know me.

We talked.  He was very upbeat about the AAA Service and the furnace.  "The best thing we ever did was replace that one that came with this place.  It has saved us a lot of money on our gas bill--especially this winter."

"Did you get the energy efficient one--the smaller one."

"Yep.  Got rebates from Consumers and DTE too, plus a lower gas bill."

"Okay.  Thanks.  Lance?  Work up a sheet for the energy efficient one and see what the total cost will be."

We sat over on the davenport, with a table between us.  He wrote everything out.  $4,234.00  Then he started taking stuff off--no service charge for today, no charge for the new starter,   A brand new, digital programmable thermostat thrown in, a 5 year maintenance agreement where they come and inspect the A/C in the spring and the furnace in the fall.

The new installation will include new venting to outside, a new roof vent and collar, some sort of thing that also makes the A/C more efficient, take away all pieces of furnace, clean up closet where furnace is placed--stuff like that.

The discounts came to -$386.00, plus the rebate from the gas and electric company.  $736.00 worth of discounts.  They can put it in tomorrow morning.  

I handed Lance my credit card--my hands were shaking so hard.  He reached over and took my hand.

"My Mom is around your age.  She is living on Social Security.  I know what a hard decision this is for you.  They say there is a reason for everything.  I have been thinking, as bad as that heat exchanger looks....maybe...just maybe, God burned that starter out so the furnace would shut down, so you would have to call us and I found the cracks and the little hole.  Maybe God did that to save you from perhaps dying of carbon monoxide poisoning.  We have to keep the faith and trust that God will get us through any hard thing that comes to us."

He filled out all the rebate papers, explained all the warranties to me--the heat exchanger has a lifetime guarantee, 10 years on parts, 5 years on labor--no matter what.

I signed my name, we talked a bit, then he got up to leave and when I walked him to the door, he turned and hugged me. 
=================
Pearl called--Merle wondered what was happening as he had seen the truck.  When I told her, Merle got on the phone and told me that two years ago they replaced their furnace for the same issues I have and that they have been very pleased with the performance and the company.  

I said, "Well, I don't know if yours is working very well.  Your gas bill was high last month."

"Yup.  That's because Pearl wants that gas log running all the time.  It is very costly as most of the warm air goes up the chimney."

"I know...she loves to have it lit."

"Yeah...but not much more.  She is allergic to the fume it puts out and we have some sort of film all over the inside windows."

"Did you get someone to come out and look at it?"

"Yup.  The company we bought it from.  The company you told us not to use?  They say there is nothing wrong with it."
=======================
So--at 9:00 tomorrow morning, I will be having a new furnace installed and when my credit card comes due on March 25th, I will have to figure out how I'm going to pay.  I Have always paid more then the minimum and paid early.  Perhaps, I am going to have to just pay the minimum and not worry about the interest I am paying also.  I still am paying for Fred's funeral and his dentures and transmission on his car--so now, here is another bill along with my car repair and the plumber's charge for the frozen pipe.

Will someone just shoot me and put me out of my misery?!!
 ===========================
Pammie was home tonight so I called her--she is the only one in the family who understands how tough it is to live with very little money.  I almost wish she were closer to retirement--she will make more money on S.S. then she has for the last five years!

"Well Momma, you will have a decent furnace that you don't have to worry about anymore.  That will bring you peace of mind and you can't put a price on that.  Did you tell Karen or Aunt Susan?"

"Nope.  They are wonderful people, but they don't understand.  I told Karen when I had to get my new roof and her response, after I told her it would cost three thousand dollars was, "Oh...that's a great price.!"  and she was happy for me."

"They don't understand, Momma.  They think the poverty level is around thirty thousand dollars a year.  When they have to have a new roof or furnace, they put it on their credit card and pay it of the end of the month.  To them...sure it's an unexpected expense, but not that is real troubling.  They have no idea that we are living below the poverty level--they can't comprehend it."

"Yeah.  They go down to Detroit to help the poverty people who are living on eight, nine thousand a year from Welfare.  they don't realize that their own Mother is living on that same amount and no help from Welfare."

"Yeah...you're right."

"I know.  To them three thousand dollars for repairs would be a nuisance.  They don't realize that for us, it's a catastrophe! That's why I called you...at least you get it"

"You call me anytime, Momma.  I will always understand.
================================

Oh, by the way, had to cancel tomorrow's appointment with the cardiologist--for the 3rd time.  Maybe someone is telling me I don't really need to go?  My next appointment is March 14th, so prepare yourself for another big snow storm--that's why I had to cancel the first two.

Nuttin' Honey

Today's high temperature was: 21 degrees

Sunny most of the day

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I haven't much to say tonight--the Polar Vortex is coming back on Wednesday--for the 4th time this winter.

I am glad it is the last week of February.

My Spartans lost to U of M, Sunday--CRUD!!

Downton Abbey's last episode of Season 4 was last night.  We have to wait until next January for the next series.  I love that show!!

Dar was home all day--she did not go anywhere and she did not call or come over.  She was going crazy panicked on Saturday because she had to be inside for four hours and yet today---she never appeared.  I don't get that woman.

Someone was talking about how there is no civility anymore--that people talk rude and you need to stand up to them and let them know.  Well, in my opinion that isn't very civil either.  I am never rude to people, even if they are to me.  If I were, wouldn't that lower me to their level?  That's what I was taught.

Sometimes, Dar can be a pain in the neck, but she has emotional issues.  It wouldn't be very helpful to her if I were rude and told her to back off.  It's just the way she is and she isn't hurtful to me.  If I can help her, I will.  I can also tell her "no", but I do it in a gentle manner.  

Besides that, whenever I think I am losing it and going nuts,  just being in the same room with Dar reassures me that I am quite okay, LOL.    

I am very thankful that I have a small kitchen as washing and polishing the kitchen cupboards hurts!  The counters and appliances can wait for another day.

I didn't get to sleep until 4:00 this morning.  I don't know why, I could not get comfortable and fall asleep.

I left a message on Pearl's phone Saturday morning--she called back this afternoon.  She said she saw my name, but she can't access any of her messages.  "I got rid of that smart phone because it didn't work, got a different phone and this one doesn't work either."  Me thinks it's not the phones, but I did not tell her that.

My sister called to tell me she got a personal note from Debbie Macomber--actually written and signed by Debbie.  Susan had written her a  note about loving her positive, nice books and that she had lost a son, just like Debbie.  

I haven't walked out to get my mail since Friday.  I may wander out tomorrow.

I have been missing Fred AND his dog all weekend.  I don't know why, just been missing them.  That dog was so nice, as was Fred.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the Daytona 500--rain delays made it a long race.  I am glad.  Daytona 500 is where his daddy was killed and Junior won there in 2001.  His Dad's number 3 was on a car driven by a rookie.  I only watched the last 20+ laps--not really into NASCAR since Fred died.  He loved it!

I haven't been too church since Christmas.  When I got back, people will ask, "We have missed you.  Have you been in Florida all winter?"  and I will say, "No, I have been lazy all winter."  I miss the hymns and the sermons, but I don't miss having to get up earlier and driving in the cold car and bad weather.  I think God understands--after all--it's not about church attendance anyway.

I guess that's all I have.  Maybe tomorrow will be more interesting?

Later--Jude

"Trapped Like A Rat"

I am not driving anywhere today.

Dar called at noon.

"Help!  I'm trapped like a rat!"

"What's wrong?"  I was concerned that perhaps she had fallen or something.

"I can't get out of my house.  My steps and sidewalk are so icy!"

"Well...just stay inside then."

"I can't!  You know how depressed I get when I can't get out!  It's driving me crazy already!  I was going to walk over...but I'm afraid."

<good grief>

"Think of some project to do...read...watch TV...clean your kitchen cupboards...walk on your treadmill....."

"You don't mind being inside, but...I can't stand it!"

<her voice going louder and higher>

"Okay.  I will come over for a minute."

"NO.  DON'T.  YOU'LL FALL AND BREAK YOUR HIP!"

"I'll be fine."

So I put on my coat and boots and went outside.

The large "lake" in front of my car cracked and broke through as I stepped on it--no big deal.

 I looked to my right, down to the corner, it didn't look too bad.

Then I turned and looked up to Dar's

beige house, grey car and walked up

"OH.  MY.  GOD!" she said when she opened the door.

"Do you have any of that HEAT stuff that melts ice?"

"Yes."  She got the jug and handed it to me and I sprinkled some on her steps and then the sidewalk out to her car.  

"How am I going to get up the street?" she asked.

"Why do you have to get up the street?"

"Because, I have to leave for work in an hour and the ruts are so bad!"

"When you leave, back out and come down my way to the corner.  That street is better because the wind comes from a different way and hasn't blown the water up into ruts.  Go down and take the last street out to the main street.  It is more protected from the wind and shouldn't be as bad as our street.  Then you will be on the main street going out of the park and it has been salted and is clear--I think.  At least it was yesterday when I came home."

"Oh my gosh.  Sheila and I went out to a movie and dinner last night and when we got home, she was afraid the ruts were going to tear up the under part of her car--it was awful!"

<okay, so Dar worked yesterday, then went to a movie and out to dinner, came home, slept and goes to work again in an hour and she is depressed and going crazy because for FOUR whole hours she felt like she couldn't get out of her house?>

"What if it hurts my car?"

"Dar!  Calm down.  Take in a nice deep breath.  If you drive out the way I told you, I think you will be okay.  Try to stay to the side of the street where the ruts are less.  Okay?"

"Ah-hh."  She let out a big breath.  "I feel better now, but.....I can't get my paper!  I have to read my paper every morning or my whole routine is upset!"

<this woman is completely unreal!>

"I'll get it for you."  and I walked out to her mailbox, got her mail and her damn paper and took them back up to her door."

"There ya go," I said.  "Are you okay now?"

"Yes.  I think so.  See ya."

...and I walked back home.

I decided as long as I was out, I should check my roof.  Many residents here are having problems with ice dams--long icicles hanging and problems with leaky roofs.

Mine looked pretty good--thanks to that new roof almost two years ago and the special layer they put down to prevent ice dams.

You can tell I have good insulation in the roof rafters because there

is still a nice layer of snow.  If the insulation was bad, the

snow would be patchy or gone.

Like these two houses.

My white headed bird came back today and I finally got some pix of it--not very good pix because every time I even breathed, it took off, so I had to stay in my chair and zoom in through the window screen.  

I think the dang thing is a Parakeet!  By the shape of its head and its beak, which is sort of hooked, I think this was a tame Parakeet that got loose and is now running with the wild crowd.    It doesn't look at all like the all white sparrow I had visiting last August.

The rest of the day, I stayed, mainly in my recliner, watching a Walton's marathon and cross stitching.  One of those kind of days.

Just Messing Around

Today's high temperature was: 34 degrees

50 mph wind gusts

Grey

=========================

I wish I could take a video to show you how the trees are dancing and bending in this wind.  If it were July, I'd think we had a tornado coming at us!

I looked out this morning, checking the bird feeders, noticed that the two cats were mesmerized by something going on under the feeders, so I stepped up closer to the window and there--right in public, were two squirrels---mating!  I have never seen squirrels mate and I was fascinated.  They were on their sides--maybe they were just spooning?  I don't know for sure--but they rolled around a lot and then all was quiet, then they scampered away.

This reminded me of the time the kids and I were cleaning out our rabbit pens and a pair started mating--right in front of us.  Of course, the kids were wide-eyed and asked what was going on.  There I was, trying to explain in a normal, farm-life sort of way and the Buck must have completed his job as he fell off, onto his side and laid there.  "Is he dead?" gasped my son.

As I look back now, I should have said, "Yes!  If you ever have sex, you might die!" But instead I just said, "No--he's okay.  He's just tired."  and I took him and put him ALONE in another hutch,  however, the kids were ecstatic when one month later, we had a fluffy rabbit fur-lined nest full of baby bunnies.
==============================

Once, in the middle of the night, a wind gust took my storm door and smashed it up against the porch railing.  Fred jumped out of bed and said, "Someone is breaking in!"  He started to run down the hallway and then came back to the bedroom, all aflutter.  I calmly sat up in bed and said, "No--I think the storm door just smashed up against the porch railing."  and sure enough.  We got it repaired, or--Fred rehung it and it never has worked correctly since (LOL), so now, just in case, I have a loop of strong twine that I tie around the storm door handle and then bring it inside, close the inner door, and wrap that string around the inside door knob.  Works for me!!!

Yesterday, my Soap was pre-empted by the Gold Medal Women's Ice Hockey game.  Ice Hockey!  Women's Ice Hockey!  BLECH!!  I just hope they replay my Soap today because yesterday was going to be a real cliff hanger.  

Decided to make another loaf of bread--this time I added an egg.

Then I set up my card table and during my Soap, I filled all my pill boxes.

Then I decided I best collect my stuff for the 2013 album.

Good grief!  I had to find pictures on my computer and print them out and....4 hours later, I was done.

So was the bread, so I decided to have a slice of warm bread, oleo and Raspberry Preserves.

...and it was so good that I decided to have another one and....as it was almost 5:00--it turned out to be my supper.  Don't preach!  I had calcium, a bit of protein and fruit! LOL

Not a very exciting day, but one in which I got a few loose ends taken care of.  Have I started washing the kitchen cupboards?  You silly billy!  I did do one door to see how the Murphy Oil Soap worked--it worked great, nice and smoother and clean looking.  But--you see--my shoulder has been acting up and the pain under the scapula and into my collar bone has come back and I haven't been to the Chiropractor and......................well, that's my story and I am sticking to it.  Maybe tomorrow?

Sunday--there is a very important college basketball game on TV.  Michigan State and Michigan are tied for 1st place in the Big Ten.  We will play each other.  

Last night MSU set a new school record for 3-pointers--we played Purdue (sorry, Melissa).  I just hope we can do something like that on Sunday against our arch enemies!!!

=====================

Please take a moment and say a prayer for my blogger friend, Marcia.  She contracted the flu, which turned into the H1N1, which turned into pneumonia, which turned into her having pulmonary embolisms.  She is getting better, a bit, but I am very worried about her.  That's why we olders have to get our flu shots in October.  We may still get the flu, but it will be a mild case and this year, the vaccine protected against the H1N1.    Love you, Ms. Graysea/Marcia!!!

Unusual Weather Day

Today's high temperature was:  37 degrees (tonight at 10:00)

Snow, thunder,  heavy rain, wind

-----------------------------------------

I got up and checked the weather radar map on my computer.  There was blue almost over me, then along came pink, later yellow, some orange even, and green.  What does that rainbow of colors mean?  An unusual weather day here in the heart of the Mitten.

At 10:00 it all started, just as predicted.  A white-out and thunder.  At least I have clean windows with which to watch the weather this day.

Along about noon the rain started--freezing rain.

The temperature started going up and by 4:00 we were having a heavy rain and more thunder--something like a summer thunder storm.  Unreal!

Things quieted down a bit in late afternoon, but right now, at 11:00 at night, the rain has come back and we are expecting 40-50 mph wind gust all night long.

============================

I hate Yogurt!!!  I have tried every brand imaginable--with fruit, without fruit.  Activa, Greek, Chobani--I hate it.  It is sour and nasty tasting--like sour milk that has gone thick.  YUCK!! I may be the only person in the USA to hate Yogurt.  If we had milk like that on the farm, we would have thrown it out because it had gone bad!  BLECH!!

=====================

I have a question.  I take fish oil--Nature Made 1,000 units Omega 3, Fish Oil.  My doc told me to take two a day for heart health, arthritis pain relief and memory.  Then, I heard that Krill Oil is better--that it more absorbable and you only take one smaller capsule.

So--I want to know.  What do you think?  Do any of you use the Krill Oil?  I know that whales main diet is the little krill found in the deep, cold ocean and...whales live a long time and seem very healthy, so...maybe I should start eating like a whale?

See ya--Jude

Fun Day

Today's high temperature was: 45 degrees

Sunny and felt like spring

Winter returns tomorrow

==================================

Winter Weather Advisory In Effect From 10 A.M. To 4 P.M. EST Thursday The National Weather Service In Detroit/Pontiac Has Issued A Winter Weather Advisory For Freezing Rain With A Chance Of Snow... Which Is In Effect From 10 A.M. To 4 P.M. EST Thursday. Hazardous Weather...

A Mix Of Freezing Rain And Snow Is Expected To Begin By 10 Am.

Snow Accumulation Will Be An Inch Or Less But About A Tenth Inch Of Icing Is Expected Before Changing Over To All Rain During Mid Afternoon. Impacts...

Mixed Snow Accumulation And Icing Will Lead To Slippery Conditions On Untreated Surfaces. Precautionary/Preparedness Actions...

AND the Polar Vortex comes back next week.   Fun Times!!

===============================================

I got up around 9:00 this morning, fed the cats, got my hot cocoa and walked into this room.  Sun was flooding through the sparkling clean windows, warming the room.  I pulled down my new white blinds and turned on the computer.  I looked around and just sighed--I love this room!!

I "thought" I was going to the Gal Pals luncheon tomorrow, so I scheduled a hair cut for this afternoon.  My hair grows so fast--it has only been a month and yet it was long in back and on top.  Unfortunately, the only appointment time I could get was 1:45--which interfered with the watching of my Soap--oh, woe is me.

I left at twenty after one, stopped at The Salvation Army to drop off the three boxes of books and "stuff", then stopped at the post office to mail a return and then onto the beauty parlor (as we called it in the olden days.)  They had their front door open.  Now, it was only 45 degrees today--people were acting like it was summer!  In the summer, if it were 45 degrees, we'd have our houses closed up and the furnace running, but for some reason, today felt like a day to open windows and doors.

Wow--this gal is getting old!

Got my hairs cut and decided to stop at the Meijer store on the way home.  I had to get another package of the Command Stick On hooks and Diet Pepsi was on sale--10 for $10.00 with the 11th one free.  I got some Murphy's Oil Soap and another can of Pledge, and some Koegel Vienna's to put inside crescent rolls.

I knew that Dar was working so I found her cashier line and waited.  I kept my back turned in case she looked up from her other customers.  When everyone was done, I had my 11 bottles of Pepsi lined up first.  I saw her look down at them and then up at me.

"I'd like my Pepsi double bagged, please."

She started laughing.  "When I saw that Pepsi, I should have known!"

We didn't chat too much--I was afraid I might get her in trouble or make a mistake checking me out.  She is pretty slow and instead of placing items in the plastic bags, she drops them in with a loud CLUNK, but I have to give her credit.  She's 72 years old and standing on her feet 8 hours a day sure isn't easy--I couldn't do it!

As I came out of the store, I was pushing my cart toward my car.  I saw a youngish woman walking toward me, intent on her phone--texting away.  She was totally clueless to anything that was going on around her.  I noticed she was walking sort of on a diagonal--directly at me.  I pushed my cart over as close as I could get to the line of cars and she kept walking.  I could see what was going to happen so I stopped pushing my cart and BLAM, she walked right into the nose of my cart.

She looked up and gave me a dirty look, like I had intentionally ran into her and I said, "Good thing I'm not a car."  She gave me another dirty look and walked on, rubbing her left thigh where she had rammed into my cart.  I watched as she crossed the drive to the store's entrance and she didn't even look up.  Apparently she assumed any oncoming traffic would stop at the stop sign area.  She walked up to the entrance and at first walked up to the exit side, and when that door wouldn't open, over to the entrance--never taking her eyes off her phone.

I must be totally out of date--old--whatever, but it seems to me, as the years pass, people just get more and more stupid!  I did have to laugh when I got in my car, remembering her rubbing her left thigh--apparently she learned nothing from the incident.

It was nice that Dan cleared off the driveway yesterday.  When I got home today, the sun had melted all the snow--I noticed that Dar, Jackie and Pearl's driveways were still covered.

There is a lot of slush on our streets here in the park--especially this street way in the back.  Sure, the maintenance guys have plowed, but never put on any salt.  There is ice underneath all the snow and melted on top.  Coming down the street, my car kept sliding back and forth--much fun!

I am NOT going to the Gal Pals lunch tomorrow.  With the iffy weather, I don't want to be out driving 45 minutes with freezing rain and snow expected.  So, I also won't get to visit my little sister.  Haven't been up to the farm since Christmas Eve.  They live on a gravel road which will still be snow covered and worse then the street in this park.  Then of course, the spring thaw will come and they will have a mud bog on their road.  Perhaps I will get there sometime in May?

So--I had a great day and tomorrow I will start washing down the kitchen cupboards--or not.  LOL.

Spring Cleaning In Winter--Day 4--Same Room

Today's high temperature was: 35 degrees

Beautiful sunny skies all day.

==================================

We only got a couple of inches of snow last night--not the 3-5 predicted.  It just freshened up the old snow, so that it looks nice and clean outside.

Continuing on with the rearrangement-----

When you walk in the front door and look to your right,

this is what you would see.

I got my printer and scanner off the corner of my desk

and put them and the modem/router/surge protector plug

on the cart.  I don't really like the looks of it, but

I now have more room on my desk.

I wanted to put it on the other side of the desk, but the cords wouldn't go that far, so.....

If you stuck your head in a bit further, you would see this. 

and a bit farther--you'd see this

This is the view to my right when I am sitting at my desk.

I do not like all those binders--they are on the far end

bookcase, so they are not visible to someone entering the house.

30 years of scrapbooks/pictures.

Every now and then, I use them to find an old picture or to

check on what went on in 1987--whatever.  I should probably

buy new binders-all the same color, and put on new spine labels.

The view of the cubby when I am sitting at my desk.

I like it.

and if I turned around in my chair--this is what I see

I wish I could have painted the walls--they need it, but I couldn't move this unit, nor the desk, so I just scrubbed the walls where I could reach.  I use this area when I am putting together my albums, or wrapping gifts, or need a larger space to work

I especially like this bulletin board with all the old pictures of my family

.

So--I am done and I really feel good in this room--very comfortable.  BTW--those Command Hooks work fantastic!!  I have dry wall that doesn't want to accept a nail, unless it has an anchor drilled in the wall first.  Just stick those Command Hooks on the wall and hang the picture.

Now--the next to attack will be the kitchen--I need to get some Murphy's Oil Soap and do every single cupboard door--and do not look forward to that chore at all!!

================================

I gotta tell you--Dan was here to clean off the driveway and car.  Yesterday Dar called and told me to have him come and do hers too.  (She has his phone number, but apparently, I am her secretary.)  So I told him and he said, "I just stopped there and she said it was going to thaw so she didn't need me."

"Oh.  She told me last night she did."

"She's weird!"

"Oh--really?"

"Yeah--really.  Half the time I don't know what she is talking about.  You ever talk to her very much?"

"Yeah."

"Do you think she is weird?"

"Yeah."

"Okay then."

===========================================

Everyone is having problems with ice dams on the edges of their roofs.  Dan has been shoveling the snow off roofs and putting down some calcium chloride to melt the ice.  I have a 2 year old roof that had special panels laid along the edges to prevent ice dams--so far I have no problem.  When the ice and snow melts--many people are going to find they have roof leaks--not a good thing.

=======================================

Have I ever told you about Mary--the lady who lives behind me?  Last year, I saw her trimming her 6 foot hedge with small hand shears, like you'd cut flowers with, so I took my hedge trimmers and trimmed if for her.

Mary has a heart of gold, but she is the dizziest woman I have ever met!  I think she maybe forgets names because she calls everyone "Honey".  One day, I walked between her house and mine to get to the other street and noticed big balls of dust hanging out of her dryer vent--on the outside.  So, I stopped in and told her she needed to clean that out or "you might have a dryer fire."  It was apparent she had no idea what I was talking about.  So, I came home, got my big round brush on the heavy wire and went over and reamed out her dryer vent.  Then I asked if I could check her dryer and she invited me in.  I checked the lint trap, it was full.  I pulled it out, cleaned it off and then came home, got my smaller vent brush and cleaned out her vent all the way down.  It was stuffed!  I told her she needed to clean it out "often".

"Well Honey, I never knew that.  I thought something was wrong with my dryer!  I had to run the clothes through at least two cycles to get them dry...and the dryer is only two years old!  My other one quit working!"   <I wonder why.>

Mary has a beautiful, large home--at least 1,600 square feet with three bedrooms, an en suite master bedroom, an open kitchen and huge dining room, a really nice living room.  Mary's house still looks like a model home because, she vacuums every day, she cleans very week and once a month....she pulls everything out from the wall and cleans behind and under all the furniture.

So--last week Mary came over.  She is selling her place and moving into government subsidized apartment in Brighton.  The same place I first checked out, before I moved here.

"They only charge you 30% of your income for rent.  I will only have to pay three hundred fifty dollars a month."  <She now pays $360.00 here, on a nice corner lot and large home.>

"How big is your apartment?

"It's a one bedroom, living room, kitchen with a dining nook.  It's seven hundred and fifty square feet.  The laundry is just down the hall about ten feet.  I am so excited!"

"Why are you moving?"

"To save money."  <okay--she will save $10.00 a month on rent.>

"Well, you won't have such a big place to clean anyway...that will be nice."

"Oh Honey, that's not why I am moving.  I am so afraid that all of my appliances are going to quit working.  One after another.  After all, I've lived here twelve years and if they all go at once....and the furnace and hot water heater....Honey, I just couldn't afford that."   <Who's to guarantee that the appliances that come with the apartment are not going to quit?  Maybe the landlord's have to replace them?>

She paid $60,000 for her place 12 years ago.  

She has just sold it for $17,000.

She likes the quietness of living out here--she is moving into an apartment with people above, below and on both sides of her--and they aren't all Seniors.  It is going to be noisy.

She is moving from 1,600 square feet to 750.

There must be something wrong with me, but I just don't get it!

<at least she won't have to worry about cleaning out her dryer vent!>

============================== 

I don't want to sound like a snob, but...honestly...I have never met women like this--like Dar and Mary and even Pearl.  They don't act like they have a lick of common sense.  The friends I went to school with, the women I've known, they aren't like these women.  I ponder on the differences.  We all grew up in the same State--at the same time--the same kind of lifestyle--the 40's and 50's.  The only difference I can see is that, my friends and I grew up near or in a small town--a lot of us were farm kids--I suppose we learned a lot about work and had common sense.  Dar, Pearl and Mary all grew up in the city.  They didn't have the "outside" responsibilities we farm kids had.  They didn't have to work in the fields, the cow barns--they went to bigger high schools.  Their Saturday afternoons were spent going to the movie or shopping or playing with their neighbors.  

Us farm kids Saturday afternoons were spent, mowing the lawn in the summer.  Helping bale hay, bringing in the cows, helping milk them, gathering the eggs, feeding the rabbits..  My nearest "kid" neighbor lived a mile away and we didn't play on Saturday's because he was helping out on his farm.  In the winter, we didn't go or do much--except the farm chores--they always had to be done.

I don't know--but these women are very different than I am.  They can't do anything on their own--they don't even know where to begin or how to finish.  It's a wonderment how they manage to live alone.