Take A Deep Breath

I'm pretty sure it's going to take some time to get back to normal.  It's funny because I don't ever remember this discontent happening in my lifetime.  I feel like we were much more adult about politics in the past.  At any rate, I don't see the sky falling, in spite of the dire warnings.  Someone should tell the University students to take a deep breath, Trump doesn't take office until January.  At this rate, with all the time off they are taking for PTSD and "trauma", they will have to spend another year getting their degree.  Talk to a Veteran if you want to know about PTSD and trauma!!

I've had lots of trauma in the last couple of weeks too.  My hips are really angry for some reason, waking me up with a deep ache every hour or so.  After perusing the Walmart aisles, I picked up this memory mattress topper.  The small one I have in the rig seems to work pretty well.  This one, not so much.

First off, it made the bed three inches higher, defeating the purpose of the lower bed for Jessie.  I guess I'll look into some kind of ramp for her.  So far, the new mattress has helped a little, since I only woke up three times last night.  Once awake, I have to get up and take Advil, or just get up, because going back to sleep in pain means a horrific nightmare.  This time aliens landed and were eating up everything green, killing the planet.  It's pretty funny when I'm awake.  Many times I even know I'm dreaming, so I tell myself to just wake up.  Sometimes it works.  I know, I'm weird!!

Lunch came from my favorite Chefanellis Catering.  It looked much better than the picture.  In fact, this picture looks like something "I" cooked.  Maybe he overcooked the rigatoni a tad, but it was mighty tasty.

The last of the work on my house is being completed ... or at least was before the election.  Maybe they got sent back to Mexico already.  Just kidding ..... that mass deportation is a figment of someone's imagination ... kind of like my nightmares.  The Painters came by and primed the windowsills, but  upon returning, said the wood needed some filler to keep water out.  Talk about doing a good job.  They could have just painted it and left, but instead spent an hour filling in all the bad spots.  

They were supposed to return with the final coat of paint yesterday, but I have yet to see them.  Hopefully it will be completed soon.  I picked up their card for when I have to have the trim painted again .. if I'm here that long.  When we secede from the Union, I'm DEFINITEY leaving on the first train for Arizona.  

I'm off to help run Bingo for Challenged Children this morning, which is a LOT more fun than regular Bingo.  These kids love us!!  I hope you have a wonderful day ... please don't worry and fret about what "might" happen.  Look at the glass as half full ... what if things actually get better?  What if you end up with better insurance at a lesser cost?  All that worry would be for naught.  I don't know about you, but I can't afford any more worry/wrinkle lines!!!

The Real Heroes

With all the marching and protesting going on, the temper tantrums of a generation of really bad losers, who don't understand what freedom is, I sincerely hope this nation doesn't forget today is VETERANS DAY.

It's time to buck up, take the medicine even if it tastes bad, and get on with life.  Today is the day we should be thanking everyone who has served in the military for making it possible for elections to take place.  Those are the REAL heroes ... and they walk among us, mostly unnoticed.

That man or woman you see on the street has seen things you can't even begin to imagine.  He has offered up his life to keep this country free.  He or she may look like you and me, but they have nightmares worse than mine that will never go away.  They are heroes who should be respected and honored.  Not just today, but EVERY day!!

Many of the kids I went to school with, never returned from Viet Nam.  Those that did, returned to an ungrateful, unpatriotic in my opinion, reception that made them feel they should be ashamed.  I call BULL$HIT!!  So lets get out there and cheer them on ... tell them what an amazing job they did and how much respect we have for their sacrifices.  Without our military, we would not be a free country.  

Stand up and applaud anyone you know who is a Veteran and lets show them we DO care!!

It's Embarrassing!!

The Soapbox appeared this morning ... I'll try to keep it short.

It's probably my fault ... I embarrass easily, but I'm sure I'm not alone in this situation.  The protests and temper tantrums around the country because Clinton didn't win, are about as embarrassing as it gets.

Even right here in River City, the University Students threw a temper tantrum because they didn't get their way.  I'm sorry, but this is a Democratic country, meaning everyone can vote for the candidate of their choice.  Nothing like being bad losers America.

My grandparents came here from Europe without a helping hand from anyone.  They didn't have health insurance, there was no welfare and they certainly did NOT expect someone else to take care of them.  I just don't understand where that idea came from.

I do realize that people are mad at the government ... the government needs to pay ... the government needs to take care of us ... but people ... where do you think the government gets it's money?  Nothing comes free ... someone actually has to pay all those bills.  That guy you think is so rich he should be paying YOUR way?  With rare exceptions, he worked just as hard for his money as I did, and as YOU SHOULD.  I know everyone wants a better country with more services, but at whose expense?  Veterans by the way, should receive much more than they do for keeping this country free where you CAN vote for the candidate of your choice.

I've traveled all over the world and KNOW we have it pretty good here.  I've worked all my life, even though some of the jobs weren't all that great, and I never expected anyone to pay my bills.  I worked hard, SAVED MY MONEY and paid my own way through college.  If I can do it, anyone can!!

It just seems to me people are biting the hand that feeds them, which isn't going to get them any favors in the future.  I'm sorry if your candidate lost the election, but I seriously doubt everyone's health insurance will immediately be cancelled.  That's Chicken Little talking!!  Did you forget about the House of Representatives and the Senate?  There are checks and balances in place for a reason.

I'm totally embarrassed by the actions of those people who feel they have been cheated.  Instead of looking at the glass as half empty, why not work at filling it back up.  Look on the bright side ... no one can predict the future.  We might just end up with an even better health insurance program.  I'm pretty sure all Mexican Americans will NOT be shipped off to Mexico, but maybe services that allow for immigration will finally be greatly improved.

So STOP with all the protesting because you didn't get your way.  If you seriously can't abide this government, you can always take your ball and go play in another country.  I for one, will be staying here, regardless of who is President.

America Has Spoken!!

Against all odds, Democrat Hillary Clinton seceded and Republican Donald Trump is our President Elect.  So far the world hasn't come to an end, so that's a good sign.

Although I should have been helping out at the Magic Kingdom, I spent most of the time in the Pull Tab room watching television.  It was a sit-on-the-edge-of-your-seat, nail-biting close race, until Trump led the last five states, already having 245 electoral votes.  In the end, it looks like 276 - 218.

It was interesting to note that Hillary's representative went to their headquarters and told everyone to go home, it was too close of a race to call at that point.  Everyone left, many in tears.  Ten minutes later, she phoned Trump's headquarters and called Uncle.

I was happy to see that one of the first things Trump said was "we're going to take care of our Veterans".

Its weird, I know, having a non-policitcal person for President, but maybe that's what our country needs ... a little shakeup ... someone who wants to put Americans first.  As an Accountant, I'm happy we may finally see some decisions based on business policies and not so much politics.  Truly, all that remains to be seen because there's still an entire political Congress he has to fight with.

It was also very interesting to see the reaction of many of our Bingo players.  I heard everything from "I'm going back to the Philippines" to "we're going to be deported".  Really, aren't you a citizen?  Yes, but Trump will send all Mexicans back to Mexico.  Good grief people ... if you are a citizen, if you are here LEGALLY, you will NOT be sent back to Mexico!!  If you really feel strongly that the Philippines is a better place to live than the United States, then by all means move back home.

I for one, LOVE it here.  Yes I pay almost 35% income tax on every dollar I make.  Pretty crazy when you think about it ... and I pay $350 a month for Medicare that was supposed to cost nothing, but I'd still rather live here than anywhere else.

In California, we're all going to become pot smokers, we have to register every box of ammunition we buy, pay even more on School Bonds (armed robbery if you actually figured out what you will end up paying) and pay another $4 in tax on each pack of cigarettes.  On the other hand, we still have the death penalty.

So if your candidate won, CONGRATULATIONS!!  If your candidate lost, don't worry, you aren't going to be shipped out of the country and I doubt your life will change drastically in the next four years, unless you're a Veteran, in which case I hope it DOES change for the BETTER!!

Remember The Fallen

Small Town USA is doing something good, in spite of the dire warnings that the world is coming to an end and even on Election Day.  We're celebrating our Veterans with a Field Of Honor.  It turned out to be a lot more than I expected.  If there is a Field Of Honor anywhere near you, you should definitely take the time for a visit and pay your respects.

I know Chicken Little is running around saying the sky is falling, but truthfully, that's not going to happen.  No matter who wins the election, life as we know it will go on because these individuals represented here made it possible for us to live in a free country.  

There aren't many that I knew personally, so wasn't I surprised when I ran into Michael Dragovich on my first walk through.  We were childhood friends before his service.  Later in life, he fought another valiant fight against Lou Gehrig's disease.  He always made me smile .... and still does.

Right next door was my good friend's son who is currently serving in Germany.  In case you didn't know, every flag here has an individuals name on it, most including a picture.  

This is his father, who served in the Navy.  I worked with him at the County Office Building for years before I met his daughter, who worked with me for eleven years.  As I walked around, I was amazed at the number of people from this small town who helped make our freedom possible.

You too can participate in this week-long recognition of the community heroes, by purchasing a flag for $35.  Every year you bring it back and it will be displayed along with thousands of others.

This is not just for military personnel ...  police officers and first responders are also honored.  Several Flags of Honor are flown for those who lost their lives on September 11, along with Flags of Heroes who lost their lives trying to save others.  

As the sun went down, a spectacular sunset appeared over the field and lasted longer than any I've seen before.  

Chicken Little can run around all he wants to, because in spite of all the political malarky, there will always be men and women like you and me who will fight to keep this country free.  Do your part and vote your preference.  America will go on.  Maybe you'll pay more taxes, maybe not, but it's worth it to live in this beautiful country of ours.

When the sun disappeared, banks of lights were turned on, keeping the field lit up all night.  I love our red, white and blue.  Isn't she beautiful??

Taste Testing Troubles!!

Speaking of time, which I wasn't, I can't tell you how much this time change stuff irritates me.  Why oh why do we mess up people's sleep patterns just so you can drive to work when it's light.  You still have to drive one way in the dark, whether time changes or not.  What are the advantages to this??

As long as it was dark out, I could convince the kids to sleep in just a tad.  Now they're up and running at 4:30 and start bugging me for dinner at 3:00 with an array of barks, which shortly turns into howls, prompting Jonathan to put his two cents in.  It's a zoo, I tell you!!!

In an effort to just get out of the house for awhile, I toured every inch of Home Depot in Turlock, looking for the gutter clips I needed to stabilize one thirty foot run.  I saw six guys when I entered the building, but they all disappeared in a flash.  I finally found ONE clip like my old ones, and hundreds of this new variety.  The problem was quickly evident ... there's no slot for a screwdriver on the end of the screw.  That means I need one of those weird screwdrivers, which I don't possess.

On this one, the screw is so long it will probably come through the wall into the house!  It will take an hour trying to tighten it down with my little crescent wrench.  I really only needed the one clip, so I'll keep this as a spare, giving me time to buy the special little driver.

In the meantime, I discovered something interesting on Facebook yesterday.  Then I saw an ad on television for the same thing.  It's called Canary.  It's supposed to be used for your house, but someone was using it in their motorhome.  The best part is you connect to it via your cell phone.  It not only gives you images, but the temperature inside.  That's a GREAT thing for dog owners.  I'm not sure about the WiFi connections, but I'm going to check it out.  It would sure make me feel better about leaving the dogs for more than four hours.  

Having spent the rest of the morning sewing on the latest never-ending quilt, I decided to take a break and see if I could make this new cupcake recipe.  I haven't made anything from scratch in years, since opening a box is SO much easier.  I actually even sifted the flour ... that's a big step for me!!

Here's a tip for any cake you make.  Once the batter is mixed up, let it sit on the counter and rest for 15 minutes before putting it in a pan.  Of course when the cupcakes came out of the oven, I had to taste the worst looking one.  WOW!!  These are amazing ... just as good as all that raw batter I ate because it tasted SO good!!

While those cooled, I whipped up a batch of caramelized pineapple ... just like the ooey gooey stuff on the bottom of an upside down cake.  YUM!!  I taste tested that too ... about a quarter cups worth!!  

This is not a fast process ... a couple hours later, I punched holes and filled them with the pineapple.  Yeah, I ate a few of the holes because they were so delicious, but by now I'm feeling pretty full.  

The crowning glory ... caramel swiss meringue buttercream frosting.  This was a first.  A real rootin'-tootin' commercial bakery frosting that's to die for!!  Melt sugar in egg whites over a double boiler, then beat in your mixer for ten minutes.  Add soft butter and beat some more ...  all of which took probably an hour.  Lastly, I whipped in some dulce de leche caramel.  

Taste is muy importante!!  I probably taste tested this twenty times and it was amazing EVERY time. By now however, my stomach isn't too happy with me at all.  The frosting hit the raw cake batter with a BANG!  I began to feel a little queazy.

I forced myself NOT to eat one until after dinner.  In between the five hours of cupcake production, I had thrown together another stew.  You can't make stew without taste testing it also, so a couple bites of that landed on top of the frosting.  It was excellent ... making my record twice in a row.  

While I watched television for the next hour, that stew was nagging at me .... having made it, I really should EAT a bowl.  Okay, okay ... even though I was pretty full, I scarfed down a small bowl, knowing I still had a cupcake to taste test.  

Another thirty minutes and I couldn't stand it.  I just HAD to try out my latest concoction.  What a mistake THAT was.  Don't get me wrong, it was over the moon delicious!!  That's also what my stomach looked like .. a big round fat full moon!!  I was stuffed to the gills and miserable!!!  The stew and caramel frosting didn't go well together at all.  I was up all night with my stomach shaking it's finger at me saying "you know better"!!!  I'm skipping breakfast.  I'm even skipping my morning coffee.  Ugh .......

Hopefully I'll start to feel better sometime today so I can get that gutter clip installed.  

Going Out Of Business Sale

When I was in Photography School eons ago, I thought it might be a fun idea to get into the business of taking pictures when I retired.  Buy a camera, take pictures and you're on your way.  Not so much.

Everyone in the class certainly was gung-ho, purchasing cameras and lens, along with a dozen bits and pieces that we just couldn't live without.  Things that would make us "professionals".  There were even three of us who discussed opening a downtown studio together and splitting the costs, because we KNEW it wouldn't be a money-maker immediately.

The best part about all that was calling myself NK-Photography and getting a nice deduction on my income taxes for depreciation.  This gear isn't cheap with lenses costing an average of $2,000 each.  The trouble is you have to show a profit at SOME point!!

That year we all went to Photoshop World in Las Vegas.  What a blast THAT was!!  We were up at 4 am sitting on the tops of buildings, taking amazing photos, along with 4,000 other people.  Too bad no one else thought our images were amazing.  With all the improvements in cameras and phones nowadays, EVERYONE can take great pictures.  The problem is SELLING them.

At any rate, on the floor of Photoshop World sat this beautiful printer, spitting out the most fabulous printed images you've ever seen.  They made me a half-price deal I couldn't refuse, especially since the other two people promised to do all their printing with it (and compensate me) at our new storefront.

That whole plan might have worked out just fine if we were somewhere other than Podunk City California.  Someone must have overheard us, because literally within a couple of weeks, another photographer opened just that type of business.  It closed one year later for lack of revenue.  My business partners disappeared into the woodwork.  Gosh ... now I'm stuck with this printer and so it has resided in my living room for the last eight years.  Since I'm trying to downsize, it's got to go.

Unfortunately, my original computer set up to use that printer, crashed.  From that point on, I was too lazy to download the drivers, get all new cabling and resurrect my picture files.  The problem is, not using a printer is the worst thing you can do.  At any rate, it's time to move it on down the road to someone who will get more use out of it's wonder High Dynamic Range printing.  The Photography Class Instructor is interested for the right price.

It took me thirty minutes just to remember how to load the paper roll.  I pushed every button possible because the instruction manual was playing hide and seek.  Finally, a test run of the printer nozzles resulted in the pretty little pattern below.  Oh no ... two big white squares.  That's not good ... not good at all.  I ran a normal cleaning ... three times. 

That promptly ran the ink cartridges down to LOW.  It doesn't like LOW, so I had to replace three.  It's a good thing I had an extra set of ink.  Still two blank squares, so I ran an EXTRA cleaning which cleaned out all the remaining ink cartridges.  By the time I was done, I had replaced every single one with a total of $1,500 worth of ink.  No one said this was a cheap hobby!

Too bad that didn't work either.  I placed a call to Epson Support and talked to Joy who was a joy.  She gave me specific instructions on how to run a service cleaning.  If that didn't work, I would have to have a technician come to the house to clean and possibly replace the nozzels.  

Four hours passed as I said lots of prayers over the beast and pushed a crazy number of buttons in different orders until it stopped.  I printed the test sheet again.  NOTHING!  RATS!!!!!  So Monday my first order of business is to call Epson for a serviceman.  This wonderful amazing printer will either get fixed for under $1,000 or it will get a short ride to the dump.  What a shame!!  But like any other printer on the market today, the repairs and ink cost more than just buying a replacement.  

NK-Photography is going out of business.  Not that I'm selling my cameras or lenses, but the printer and all eight of my carrying cases will soon disappear.  I'm sure I could sell everything on E-Bay, but then I'd have strange people coming to my door ... not a good idea when you are a single female.  

I'll continue to haul all my gear around and still take pictures of the places I visit, but printing will have to be done at an on-line facility.  I'm pretty sure they won't really notice, since I haven't printed anything in five years.  

Unfortunately, I'll have to say a fond farewell to the tax deductions.  It's been nice knowing you!!  Maybe I can come up with another money making venture ... like a quilt store!!  

NOTIFICACTION and INSURANCE

If you're going to try and scam me out of my money, at least learn how to speak, and better yet to SPELL the English language.  The first word in your email was the clue.  I'm pretty sure Chase Bank has spellchecker.  This slight error would have been picked up immediately were it the real thing.  Very close though ... you have my congrats ... the email itself looked very professional, saying you had closed my account due to password failure.  Forget the part about me not having an account there.

You needed my verification questions answered, my birth date, my social security number, my mothers maiden name, my dogs name, the year of my vehicle, my grandchildren's names, my shoe size and the color of my eyes.  I'm sorry to notify you of your email system failure.  You might have gotten just a tad bit closer to your objective if you had at least spelled NOTIFICACTION correctly.

P.S.  Your copying skills of the Chase Bank logo were fantastic.  Maybe you could use those skills to get a REAL job.

It's a damp froggy day (foggy with an r in case you think my spellchecker is sick) in Central California.  Although still 75 during the day, the nights have cooled down causing lots of the white stuff you can't see through.  This is probably the last beautiful sunrise we will see until next year.

It comes and goes, this fog.  When I was a kid, it was so bad you literally had to roll down the window and stick your head out to see the white line and listen for oncoming traffic.  When it was really bad, you always felt like you were curving around to the left, even though you KNEW the road was straight.  With the crazy drivers of today, it's just better to stay home.

Back to my Good Sam Roadside Assistance plan ..... the first year I got my rig, I went to Alaska with Patty and Dan Chance.  At the time, the best insurance coverage was with Progressive.  I knew I had some coverage for towing, I just didn't know what and was too lazy to check.  Good Sam sent me their info and for $160 I could have double coverage.  I signed up.  

I figured if I had a problem (you know how these RV's can be), at least ONE of them would foot the bill.  Someone was looking down upon me, because I had no trouble whatsoever.  I didn't mind paying double for a few years, but now the price has risen to $220 a year.  Time to take another look.

Insurance is a necessary evil I suppose.  What irritates me most is that you pay for five or ten years with no problems.  You have one claim of maybe $1000 and they surcharge you for the next three years to regain their money.  What about all the money you paid in for FIVE YEARS??  It's just ridiculous what it has become.

At any rate, my Progressive policy says it's good anywhere in Canada or the U.S. (NOT Mexico) and they will pay for unlimited-distance towing to the nearest repair facility.  If I don't want to use that particular business, I have to pay for anything over that mileage.  Repairing flat tires, jump starts, fuel delivery if I'm dumb enough to run it out of fuel and even if I lock myself out of the rig, they will cover it.

Just to keep Progressive and my insurance agency honest, I get quotes every year or so from other carriers, who so far have not been able to beat the price for the same coverage.  Luckily, I haven't had to test the policy and service ... and hope I never have to.  I just pay the bill, because you never know what might happen.  I also put a tiny bit away for emergencies, every time I receive my retirement check, just as a precaution.  If I never have to use it, I'll be thrilled ... and I'll take a cruise to Cabo!!

Down In The Gutters

Digging around in the gutters isn't my favorite thing to do, but it's a necessary evil if you're a homeowner.  The more junk that fills them up, the more problems you have with drainage and dry rot, not to mention too much water around the foundation.  I wasn't looking forward at all to climbing up and down my ladder fifty times, even if it IS good exercise.

The Contractor mentioned the front gutter was full of dirt and sand and should be cleaned.  But WAIT ... I just cleaned them last year, did I not?  There's no trees close to the house, so leaves is not a problem ... what's it full OF??

That was easy to figure out when I took a look ... this is an agricultural area, full to the brim with tractors discing fields and almond orchard sweeping equipment, throwing tons of dust into the air.  Day after day, it lands on your roof until finally it rains, depositing all that dirt in the gutter, along with a good amount of grit from the roofing material.  I gathered my tools.

The trowel didn't work, thus the big spoon that I drug through the muck.  Up the ladder, down the ladder, up the ladder ... you get the picture.  I should probably hire this done, but the handymen around here are pretty scary.  They look a little worse for wear and tear, more like the panhandlers in town.  I assume they are allergic to water.

I'm VERY careful about ladder climbing, both up and down.  After seeing so many pictures of Jan Mains broken foot bones, that's something I don't want to experience.  It helps that my 150 feet of gutters have solid concrete walkways underneath, keeping the ladder stable.

I dug out the muck, the worms, bird feathers and dead lizards, then dumped the bucket in my back pasture.  I should have treated it like one of my casseroles and buried it.  In no time, Cooper and Jessie found the pile, which resulted in another dreaded FOOT WASHING!  

I used the hammer to fix a leak where two pieces met ... or were supposed to meet, but due to the forces of nature, had come apart.  I have one whole section that tilts the wrong direction and holds water, so gutter braces are again on my list.  Hopefully two will do the trick.  The contractor has promised to clean the front gutter when he fixes the section he bent, but I won't hold my breath.  

On a completely different note, I went online to see what I could do about the beautiful but horribly made cake stand from Magnolia Farms, Chip and Joanna Gaines new company.  I finally found the return page, filled out the information and sent it off, never to hear from them.  Well that's disappointing!!

Back on their website yesterday, I found ANOTHER return page, filled out THAT information and was pleasantly surprised when it said I would be refunded the cost immediately.  When I clicked on the "print shipping label" button, it said they were sorry about the product, I would get the refund on my bank account and I could KEEP the item free of charge.  That was a shock.  

I printed out everything just to be sure I wasn't reading it wrong and will check my account in the next couple of days.  I imagine it's based on the dollar amount and not worth the cost of the return for them.  In the meantime, I'll take a hammer to the cake stand and see if I can fix it.  If it breaks, at least I'm not out anything.  Too bad, because I LOVE the design.  

I'm still checking on the Good Sam Roadside Assistance policy and hopefully will have an answer soon about the increase in cost.  In the meantime, I'm ready to gear up for the Indio Rally, which will include the gathering of all items "ice cream" and "Golden Spike".  The next step is figuring out how to fit it all in the rig!!

DING DONG .. The GOAT is DEAD!!

History was made ... the Chicago Cubs FINALLY, after 108 years of trying, beat the Cleveland Indians and won the title of WORLD SERIES CHAMPS.  It was a nail biter of a game, causing heart attack after heart attack!

They were leading into the seventh inning when a pitcher change almost blew all that hard work.  To make matters worse, there was a 17 minute rain delay, which turned out to be a good thing.  It gave the Cubs time to rally up and get their act together for the tenth inning WIN!!

Congratulations to the guys who held it together, got one more run, then held on for the last three outs to win the series.  The Goat is DEAD!!  Now they can become known as the team that WON after 108 years of trying.  The moral of the story is NEVER give up!!

Wow ... that was exciting ... to be followed by gloomy fog in Central Cal.  You can just barely see a hint of blue at the top of this image.  I was in the back yard wearing my oldest pair of jeans that barely fit and a torn, rag tag shirt, taking this picture, when the doorbell rang.  I'm sure I scared a couple of years off the life of the guy standing there.

It was the repair crew fixing to finish up my windows.  See the funny pinkish dormer window on the right?  That's what happens when air gets in between dual pane windows.  

The glass repair guy came on Halloween at 3:00 to replace the four broken windows  He had these three out in no time.  I figured to just make him part of the Halloween decorations, but he finished up around 4:30 before the kids showed up.

Don't they look pretty?  He even cleaned them before installation.  The wood frame around the windows was showing signs of dry rot, so the Contractor removed all of it and will replace it with something more waterproof.  This is when they discovered the windows were not even ... the middle one was half an inch lower.  Honestly, I couldn't see that far, but Pat Murphy is a stickler for details and wanted it fixed.  Can you imagine?  A Contractor that insists on doing a good job??

It took all of two minutes to replace this one.  Who knew you could just snap the window out of the frame??  In TEN minutes he had it back in place.  

There is still no diagnosis of the problem, other than these Jeld-wen windows are a bad product, made during the housing boom ten years ago.  If you happen to be the original owner, they are guaranteed for life.  Otherwise, you are out of luck.   

Kind of hard to see, but the repairs have been completed, my house can see again and has a new frame to boot.  Now for the painting to begin.

As you know, I DO get up early, but I'm definitely NOT presentable before 10:00 am.  The Painter showed up at 7:30, so you can imagine HIS surprise at the same attire that greeted the glazier.  As we discussed the paint color, I mentioned the window sills that were peeling terribly.  He took a look and said it wasn't primed first.  

Good grief ... I paid a Painting Contractor $6,000 to paint all the trim on my house (because it was peeling) and he didn't use primer???  I guess the only way to do things right any more is to do it yourself!!  This guy has agreed to fix it, but you can bet I'm going to be standing over his shoulder the entire time to make SURE he uses primer!!  

In the mean time, I drug out my tallest ladder for today's project ... gutter cleaning.  Won't THAT be fun!!!

Curse Of The Billy Goat

I know everyone isn't interested in baseball.  I wasn't either until I went to a game in person and got hooked.  There's nothing like cheering on your team with 40,000 like minded people!  Instantly you become best friends with people you would never even speak to on the street.

The last game of the season will be played out today between the Cleveland Indians and the Chicago Cubs and it's going to be a doozy!!!  If you've nothing else to do at 5:00, grab your favorite snacks and watch this game.  It's history in the making!!

What's all that nonsense about a goat?  Well back in 1945, William Sianis, owner of the Billy Goat Tavern in Chicago, attended game four of the World Series with his pet goat.  You would take YOUR goat to the game, wouldn't you??  Supposedly, the odor from his goat offended the fans in that section so badly, he was forced to leave the game.  Irate, he placed a curse on the Chicago Cubs that they would NEVER win another World Series.  They lost that game and so far, the curse has prevailed.

Now you know the story when you see signs with "We Aren't Afraid Of No Old Goat".  They have not won a World Series Championship in 108 years, so you can imagine how happy they were to win their League Championship, which took them to the final seven games this year.  Chicago wants to break the curse.

Last night, they kicked butt with a score of 9 - 3, making it tied 3 games to 3.  It's the best 4 out of 7 games.  Whoever wins tonight, wins the World Series.  If Chicago prevails, you're going to see celebration like you never seen before.  If the Cubs win, the curse will finally be broken.  It's history in the making, and SO exciting for them!!

Luckily for me FOUR ladies showed up at the Magic Kingdom last night, so I went in the back room and took a front row seat to watch the game.  It was definitely a weird feeling, since there has only been the Castle Lawyer and I for five years.  We have now acquired a Castle Coordinator, a MoneyChanger and the sweetest Castle Grandma you've ever seen.

The Coordinator has lots of ideas, none of which will ever be implemented because it's a World of Men who disdain change.  Even when the Castle Lawyer and I gang up, change is slow to come.  The MoneyChanger can work the dreaded black machine (YAY) and the Grandma just makes everyone smile, including herself after a drink or two.  It's going to be a fun winter!!

In the last couple of days, I've been visited by my contractor and now have four new shiny, CLEAN windows.  There's still some things to be addressed, like repairing that bent gutter and painting.  I'll explain all about it tomorrow.

It Was A SPOOOOOOKY Night!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEEEEEEEN!!  It wasn't the least bit spooky in my neighborhood, so I ramped up the scare and the music, all the while blasting the front porch with creepy fog.  It was SO much fun!!

The very first visitor was three year old Woody from Toy Story, along with Mrs. Buzz Lightyear.  This is his first year out on his own and he was a little intimidated by the tall guy.  As I watched from inside, he finally knocked on the door.  With a little prompting of "what do you say?", being the little gentleman that he is, he said THANK YOU.  No no ... you're supposed to say Trick or Treat!!

He got candy anyway ... LOTS of candy, including some for Mom, Nana and Papa.  

He loved the pumpkins ... Papa like the skulls.  Auntie Nancy wishes he would get a haircut, but Dad refuses (????)  This is Woody's alter ego, Hippy Woody.

Once he figured out if he touched the witch she would light up and talk, we had a marathon session.  He seemed fascinated by the glass ball.  After one last run from the car all the way back to touch her, they took off for greener pastures and more candy.  He decided Halloween was pretty fun!!

This guy scared everyone, even the adults.  They all thought it was a real person that would scare them.  I sat on the floor behind the door and ran the fog machine, peeking through the side windows.  If someone was hesitant to walk up, I opened the door and told them it was okay.  You never saw so many relieved faces with big smiles when they saw me!!

For those that braved the scary entrance, there were full sized snickers.  This brought a resounding YES from several boys dressed as boys.  They thanked me over and over, then ran out into the driveway and yelled YES again.  I'll remember this next year.

The kids weren't the only ones scared.  As I filmed a short session of closeups while the music blasted, I saw this creature out of the corner of my eye.  I'm barefoot, causing quite a little impromptu show of River Dance.  I don't know what it was, but it was FAST!!  I wore my cowboy boots for the rest of the night.

Seventy children went away happy, along with six adults who also got candy.  The theme of the night was actually policemen ... which I LOVED.  The best costume (besides Woody of course) was a SWAT member who rolled up with his twin sisters chained in a stroller, both dressed in black and white jailbird stripes.  He won the prize!!!  The second best was Ariel, whose beautiful red hair was amazing.  I think I need that wig!!

Halloween was a resounding success as pickups and even tractors, pulled wagon loads of kids around the neighborhood.  A first for this area.  What a great idea ... safety in numbers with parents on board to keep everyone in tow.  Twenty five in one shot ran my candy down a little, so I was glad I had purchased a bag of minis as backup.  I gave away every last one .... sort of .... well maybe I kept just one for me.  ALRIGHT!!  I kept FOUR!!!  Peanut butter cups are my favorite!

It's Magic Kingdom time, but after a horrible night with no sleep whatsoever, I may just make an appearance to be sure someone else is there before returning home.  Maybe a nap will help after a big glass of wine ... but then I'd have to go to the store and that's not happening!! 

Next up ... CHRISTMAS!!  With a little Thanksgiving thrown in in-between!!