Thursday, July 24, 2014

3968 Wind

Thursday, July 24, 2014

I was so happy about the condition of the country house when I visited two weeks ago.  The microwave still had the correct time, so it hadn't even lost power all winter.

I couldn't go last week because Daughter, Hercules, and the Nugget had gone camping, and I was charged with taking care of the cats and watering the tomatoes.  I wouldn't have gone anyway, because the temperatures up there were in the high 80s low 90s, and it would have been simply too hot to do anything in the house.  Today and tomorrow are supposed to be low 80s, so I plan to drive up this afternoon, returning Saturday.

Next week I want to schedule visits from a few a/c companies.  I need to get that moving.

This morning I got an email from the Hairless Hunk.  There was a windstorm yesterday.  I lost four trees.  He said none hit the house, they all fell to the east, but ... damn!  Over the past 10 years I've lost at least a dozen mature trees to wind.   Price of living on a ridge, I guess.  (While Jay was alive, we had only one severe tree incident, but that time we lost 20 trees in one fell swoop.)

I hope none are crossing the driveway.  I can no longer walk up that drive.
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Tuesday, July 22, 2014

3967 I think it was made in China....


Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Want a fun job, in a foreign country, a different culture?  There should be lots of jobs available writing for toy companies in China.

I bought the Nugget a train set (Thomas and Friends).  The following is from the online description.  Points 5 and 6 were particularly amusing.


5.suitable for: age 3-69 years old

6. children should be warning in adult care use. do not put toys, thrown each other. small parts do not eat, lest produce risk events.toys like found damaged, please be careful save or recycled. avoid fell into, exposure to the sun, damp.
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3966 They're after me?

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

I am not one of those people who stick a little finger out to catch the turn signal as I turn the steering wheel.  I mean, why bother, if you don't signal a turn until you are actually IN the turn?  I signal just before I slow down to make the turn, you know, like to let anyone behind me know what's coming up next.

Three times in the past two weeks I signaled a left turn, slowed down, started the turn, AND SOME IDIOT SCREAMED PAST ME ON THE LEFT!

This afternoon it was as I was turning into my own driveway.  This is a narrow residential dead-end.  I had signaled about four houses up. I pressed the button to open the garage door about that same time.  The speed limit is 25.  I had slowed down to make the tight turn into the driveway, had started the turn, and wham!  There was a car passing me.

Third time similar situation in just two weeks.  And every single time it was a huge SUV.  White one today.  End of last week it was a red one.

I left the car running after I pulled into the garage and checked the turn signals.  They're working.

I don't understand.
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Sunday, July 20, 2014

3965 Three examples of "Duh!"

Sunday, July 20, 2014

Overheard a conversation across the street.  Apparently the neighbor has a "boa constructor".  I had an immediate mental image of an elf stringing feathers.

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I had mentioned that the fuel service for the country house reported that they were unable to make the spring oil delivery because the tank was still full of December's oil, which means the country house had NO HEAT all winter!  What with medical problems and a bad winter, I hadn't been to the house since last summer.

I freaked a little.  Only a little because the well pump had been turned off, so it's not like the house would have filled with water if a pipe had burst, and I had left several faucets open so the danger of bursting was low, but still I had no idea what damage could have occurred.  There were containers of liquids, you know, who knows what might have happened.  I didn't know what might be wrong with the furnace.  And I shuddered to think about the spiders and mice having taken over completely, and the yellow jackets.....

So I made an exploratory trip.  I worried all the way up the highways.

Nothing is wrong. The place looked great.  It even smelled good.  The lawn looks wonderful. The porch is not full of wasp nests.  There's no mouse poop in the kitchen and they didn't move into my bed or furniture.  Everything is exactly as I left it.  I didn't try turning the water on, so there's still a possibility of  leaking pipes somewhere, but I can check that later and handle it as needed.

There's not even anything wrong with the furnace.  I don't know why I did it, but apparently last summer I had turned the furnace off at the thermostat.  Duh.

I'm so happy.

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You need to see this video.  It's so cute!  It's kind of blah at the beginning, but the end is perfect. You need to watch from the beginning to fully understand the effort the gray cat had put in.  Kitty treats are stored in the top drawer, and the kitties are determined to get them.  The sound doesn't need to be high, but you DO need to be able to hear the music.  (I swear the gray cat called the other an idiot.)


[http://youtu.be/H5SPc1Gn6N8]
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