My Surprise Findings in Eureka

The City streets of Eureka are a mess of angles, turns and dead ends.  I have no idea where I was headed.  I thought I looked up a quilt store and saved the location, hoping my not-so-trusty GPS would take me there.  That's when I spotted this creation.  On one hand I think it's absolutely beautiful.  On the other hand, did they just not have enough money to buy paint??

I've seen so many marijuana dispensaries on this trip ... literally every once-vacant house now sells drugs ... that I figured someone just got a little too crazy.  On the very next block there was another one.  It's sort of graffiti I suppose!!

Finally at a dead end where I can't get there from here, my GPS kept telling me to turn left into a house.  I made a couple of questionable turns sort of down one way streets the wrong way ... I plead the fifth ... and drove right up to an antique store.  I hit the brakes and came to a screeching stop.  As I contemplated a place to park, this carriage came by.  How cool is that??  I think they were getting a tour of old homes.

It's was karma ... fate ... the second I stepped in the door I saw him.  The perfect addition to the Arizona house.  Chief Somebody ... I wish I knew who, but alas at this point in time he doesn't have a name.  Made from cast stone, he weighs a ton.  Literally, it took two people to get him in the back of my Jeep.  Although I thought I might have overpaid a tad, I have since found his twin for sale on the internet for eight times what I paid.  Now that's a deal!

I found this basket stashed in a corner on the floor with a Papago Indian tag.  I have no idea if it's real or not, but a customer came in to their store, said it was Indian not African, and it should be so noted.  Who knows if she's right or not, but it was $20.  

Now home with all my treasures, I went to pick up four months of mail from the UPS store where my mail box is.  They had called me three weeks ago about my box overflowing.  Even though I tried to find a place to have it sent to, no one would cooperate.  The RV parks refused to accept delivery and many Post Offices don't accept General Delivery any more.  

So of course my first stop was at my mail box.  Wait .... WHAT??  There's cardboard covering all the windows and the UPS sign has been ripped from the building.  They are out of business?  Where's my mail???  I called the phone number and left a message on the answering machine TWICE.  Where's my four months of bills and bank statements and property tax documents??

I've no idea because they haven't called me back.  Nor do I have any idea what the post office has been doing with my mail.  Unfortunately, they don't open until 10:00 this morning.  I mean really, isn't it a federal offense to steal someone's mail??  

I can't go online and change my mailing address because I don't have a mail box.  My lovely neighbors backed into it (although they won't admit it ... white paint on the post, white car) and broke it so it can't be reused.  Even so, I called one of my Elks friends for help and broke into tears.  I was just overwhelmed with the fact all my mail was gone and my pickup truck wouldn't start.

He came right over, hooked up my battery charger and checked out the mail box.  It can't be repaired, so I have to go buy a new one.  I'm hoping to get a large box at the Post Office instead, but last time I checked, none were available, not to mention they are expensive.  You don't suppose they will go out of business too, do you??

I think that Ghosty followed me home.  The battery charger worked, the engine will turn over, but still won't start.  Mark showed me how to pump up the pressure thingy so fuel would go through the lines, but it didn't work.  

Early this morning, I figured out why the battery went dead.  The brakes lights are on.  Yes they are ... lighting up my whole garage with red light.  I tried everything to get them to turn off, to no avail.  What in the world is going on??  I guess I'm having it towed this morning.  There's another cool $500 ... I'm hoping it's not worse.

I'm really trying to look on the bright side.  Thanks to my $225 a month PG&E bill (even though I was GONE), my grass couldn't be greener.  I'm not counting the two dead plants.  Really, if I let them all die, I won't have to worry about them any more!!  

I'm off to the dentist.