Sunday, August 09, 2009
SUNDAY: Two busy days during 500 mile jaunts...
Yesterday....Saturday.....we left here around 10 AM.....after meeting with our roofing contractor to see if there was anything we needed to do for him prior to leaving. And....then we were off to the city, making a prolonged stop at one of Trader Joe's in STL. Purchasing several kinds of cheeses, some artisan Ciabatta buns , and a half case of wine from Italy, we then scurried on up the road to Monroe City, arriving about mid-afternoon. A couple of hours to visit with the 1st Lady's mother....and then it was time to get ready to go back to Hannibal for her 45th class reunion.
Arriving at Fiddlesticks....a nice restaurtant on the west side of Hannibal, we found the correct room.....and soon, the 1st Lady was hugging and being hugged by long, long-time ago friends from High Schoo.. She had not been to a reunion since the 15th one......so it had been 30 years since she had seen any of these former classmates. A large percentage of the class was there, along with spouses/friends......and it was a really very fun and pleasant 3+ hours. A really super book had been printed with each member's senior picture, address, phone number and email address, along with a biography description of their Life over the past 45 years. And...this book was sooooo well done!!!!!! What a book of memories and information for the class members!!!!!
Afterwards, we returned to Monroe City for the night.
This morning......a quick breakfast, and we left there at 9am for Dr. Jeni's home in the beautiful rural area between New Haven and Washington, MO......and for Max's 1 year old birthday party. Becky and Rachel came up from Cape Girardeau, and then Dr. Jeni and Darrel's close friends, Jeremy and Tiffany arrived from F'town, as well as Darrel's mother and two nieces from Branson. Sooooo, the house was filled with children having fun, using the pool, playing on the new playground Darrel had constructed for the kids, and enjoying the party, pizza, cake and ice cream.
We left there about 6pm and arrived home in a bit over two hours.......almost 500 miles in less than 36 hours, plus all of the varied weekend activities during the jaunt to NE Missouri and back.
The roofers are not finished, no new guttering that I could see this evening in the twilight, and so....there is a good day, if not two days, work left to do, so it appears from my untrained eyes. We have about decided to not depart from here until Thursday morning....as we have many, many, many things that must be taken care of before departing for several weeks.......
And sooooo, a really packed weekend.....and an enjoyable one at that!!!! Hope to get some pictures on here of both events we attended.......I'll see how cooperative the pc, Picasa, and the camera are in the next few minutes. Keep checking back for some pictures(which at this moment are still in my camera!).
As usual.............
LIFE IS JUST INCREDIBLY GREAT!!!!!!......And, I hope it is for all of you, also!!!!!!
Arriving at Fiddlesticks....a nice restaurtant on the west side of Hannibal, we found the correct room.....and soon, the 1st Lady was hugging and being hugged by long, long-time ago friends from High Schoo.. She had not been to a reunion since the 15th one......so it had been 30 years since she had seen any of these former classmates. A large percentage of the class was there, along with spouses/friends......and it was a really very fun and pleasant 3+ hours. A really super book had been printed with each member's senior picture, address, phone number and email address, along with a biography description of their Life over the past 45 years. And...this book was sooooo well done!!!!!! What a book of memories and information for the class members!!!!!
Afterwards, we returned to Monroe City for the night.
This morning......a quick breakfast, and we left there at 9am for Dr. Jeni's home in the beautiful rural area between New Haven and Washington, MO......and for Max's 1 year old birthday party. Becky and Rachel came up from Cape Girardeau, and then Dr. Jeni and Darrel's close friends, Jeremy and Tiffany arrived from F'town, as well as Darrel's mother and two nieces from Branson. Sooooo, the house was filled with children having fun, using the pool, playing on the new playground Darrel had constructed for the kids, and enjoying the party, pizza, cake and ice cream.
We left there about 6pm and arrived home in a bit over two hours.......almost 500 miles in less than 36 hours, plus all of the varied weekend activities during the jaunt to NE Missouri and back.
The roofers are not finished, no new guttering that I could see this evening in the twilight, and so....there is a good day, if not two days, work left to do, so it appears from my untrained eyes. We have about decided to not depart from here until Thursday morning....as we have many, many, many things that must be taken care of before departing for several weeks.......
And sooooo, a really packed weekend.....and an enjoyable one at that!!!! Hope to get some pictures on here of both events we attended.......I'll see how cooperative the pc, Picasa, and the camera are in the next few minutes. Keep checking back for some pictures(which at this moment are still in my camera!).
As usual.............
LIFE IS JUST INCREDIBLY GREAT!!!!!!......And, I hope it is for all of you, also!!!!!!
Friday, August 07, 2009
FRIDAY: OMG...what a day....ONE of THOSE days!!!!
Up again at 6:35 this morning, I quietly left the bedroom, allowing the 1st Lady to hopefully stay in bed and catch up on her sleep. BUT.....at 7AM this morning I heard something...and it was someone walking and then running across the roof.....yep...the roofing crew had arrived bright and early!!! Before long, their "dump" truck arrived and drove through the back yard.....seems almost like we now have a "truck highway" going through the backyard. Can't think just how many trucks, bobcat dozers, yard tractors w/trailers, etc., etc. have driven through the back yard in the past three months. Today...it is exactly three months since the inland hurricane....and we are finally getting the roof!!!
Sooo, as the pounding, scraping, and shoveling continued this morning, I had my Fr. Roast coffee and then decided to begin mowing the lawn. Getting the mower out, I started it up...and made a couple of passes around some plants that HAD been beside the fence, which went down under the fallen trees....and then it just died...slowly. Tried to re-start it....and no progress.....looked under it...and the damn blade would not even move!!!!! LOCKED up, but not touching the edges.
Going inside, I located my business card folder and called the man who has always tuned it up...Charlie Toppins. WOW....he was IN town and so within about 15 minutes, he appeared at the patio door......and during those 15 minutes I was discussing with Joe Finch, the contractor about the day's plans...and reminding him that we would be gone over the weekend. Meeting Charlie on the patio, we looked at the machine...and he thought it might be the oil....and there was very little in it. Week before last I had just filled it up.......????? What the hell happened to it??? Well, we filled it up again......the cord wouldn't even pull, and so raising it up, he cranked and cranked on the blad and finally got it to move. Soooo, then it started...roughly...and finally took off and sounded super. So, I wrote him a check for a small sum....and began mowing.
Returning inside, I realized that the 1st Lady had left for Cape Girardeau....and I needed to run to the City Hall to pay the monthly utilities bill. Starting to leave, I ran into the next-door neighbor and he was on his way to the Post Office....and so I told him I would take his mail there for him. OK.....paid the bill at the City Hall....and then got into the truck to go to the Post Office.....and the truck had a bit of trouble starting......struggling a bit to start, but it finally did. Did the business at the Post Office.....and got ready to drive back to the stick/brick on the hill....and the damn truck would NOT start!!!!! And..as I tried it several times.....the batteries got weaker, so I just stopped trying. Getting out my wallet, I found our emergency road service card.....called the number, spent five minutes or more giving the necessary info to them...and was told that I would have service truck within 40 minutes.
And.....lucky for me, it only took about 10 minutes before the service man arrived.....hooked up the cables....and the truck started right off. While waiting I began to figure just when I had put in new batteries....and it has been over five years....so, I began to realize what needed to be done. The service guy said it appeared the batteries were shot......so, I left and went straight over to Heartland Auto Repair....and they were not busy. So....just told them I need them to drop in two new batteries as these were dead. Jesse....a former tpt player in band.....checked out the batteries and agreed......they were DOA!!! And.....about an hour later....I paid him and returned to the stick and brick.
By this time it was almost 1pm.........I quickly had a sandwich...and began mowing the yard. Ok.....the heat factor was getting higher, more humidity....and soon the heat index was 95 degrees with a hot sun shining all over the yard....no trees!!! Off and on....I mowed and then returned to the patio, or to the a/c inside for rest breaks with lots of water. Each time I stopped, I found myself resting long, drinking more, and staying inside a bit longer. It was finally 6pm before I finished........DAMN!!!! WHAT a hot afternoon.....
The roofers left around 7:30pm....and after I showered, I fixed a "Panera Bread" salad......I cup up some of those incredible fresh tomatoes that I have been purchasing at the local fresh produce store, cut up some mozzarella cheese into chunks, took one of the tortillas we had purchased at Trader Joe's....cut it up into bite sized pieces, and then drizzled EVO over all it including salt and pepper......and VOILA!!!!! A delightful, tart and wonderfully flavorful fresh salad......and OMG, it was sooooo good!!!
This evening......I have just reclined on the wonderful sofa with the built-in chaise and watched the plasma for a couple of short hours.....kicking back and relaxing. My body is really, really angry with me...and is letting me know just how badly it feels!!!!! My mind continues to work overtime on the morning where everything mechanical went wrong. However, it was sooo much better for those batteries to die on me here in town rather than some damn rest stop in the middle of hot and dry Kansas next week as we drive across that not-so-pleasant state on the way to Colorado.
The roofers got the front half of the house shingled, but the details have not been completed....and they still have the next half, the guttering, the rubber roof sections to do, and the chimney to fix. I believe it is going to take them longer than they anticipated. The roof in the front looks great and will look better with the new guttering......love the architectural shingles.....a 3D look with shades of dark brown!
Yes.....YES,YES....I hear you, damn it!!!! My body is now screaming out at me for mistreating it this afternoon.....and I suppose I will have to humor it, since it IS elderly!!!! Time for a relaxing cup of tea, a piece of chocolate....and soon obey it's wishes.....and lay it down on the bed. But.....even with "it" in revolt tonight.......as always........
LIFE IS JUST REALLY, REALLY GREAT!!!!!!......And, I hope it is for all of you, also!!!!!
Sooo, as the pounding, scraping, and shoveling continued this morning, I had my Fr. Roast coffee and then decided to begin mowing the lawn. Getting the mower out, I started it up...and made a couple of passes around some plants that HAD been beside the fence, which went down under the fallen trees....and then it just died...slowly. Tried to re-start it....and no progress.....looked under it...and the damn blade would not even move!!!!! LOCKED up, but not touching the edges.
Going inside, I located my business card folder and called the man who has always tuned it up...Charlie Toppins. WOW....he was IN town and so within about 15 minutes, he appeared at the patio door......and during those 15 minutes I was discussing with Joe Finch, the contractor about the day's plans...and reminding him that we would be gone over the weekend. Meeting Charlie on the patio, we looked at the machine...and he thought it might be the oil....and there was very little in it. Week before last I had just filled it up.......????? What the hell happened to it??? Well, we filled it up again......the cord wouldn't even pull, and so raising it up, he cranked and cranked on the blad and finally got it to move. Soooo, then it started...roughly...and finally took off and sounded super. So, I wrote him a check for a small sum....and began mowing.
Returning inside, I realized that the 1st Lady had left for Cape Girardeau....and I needed to run to the City Hall to pay the monthly utilities bill. Starting to leave, I ran into the next-door neighbor and he was on his way to the Post Office....and so I told him I would take his mail there for him. OK.....paid the bill at the City Hall....and then got into the truck to go to the Post Office.....and the truck had a bit of trouble starting......struggling a bit to start, but it finally did. Did the business at the Post Office.....and got ready to drive back to the stick/brick on the hill....and the damn truck would NOT start!!!!! And..as I tried it several times.....the batteries got weaker, so I just stopped trying. Getting out my wallet, I found our emergency road service card.....called the number, spent five minutes or more giving the necessary info to them...and was told that I would have service truck within 40 minutes.
And.....lucky for me, it only took about 10 minutes before the service man arrived.....hooked up the cables....and the truck started right off. While waiting I began to figure just when I had put in new batteries....and it has been over five years....so, I began to realize what needed to be done. The service guy said it appeared the batteries were shot......so, I left and went straight over to Heartland Auto Repair....and they were not busy. So....just told them I need them to drop in two new batteries as these were dead. Jesse....a former tpt player in band.....checked out the batteries and agreed......they were DOA!!! And.....about an hour later....I paid him and returned to the stick and brick.
By this time it was almost 1pm.........I quickly had a sandwich...and began mowing the yard. Ok.....the heat factor was getting higher, more humidity....and soon the heat index was 95 degrees with a hot sun shining all over the yard....no trees!!! Off and on....I mowed and then returned to the patio, or to the a/c inside for rest breaks with lots of water. Each time I stopped, I found myself resting long, drinking more, and staying inside a bit longer. It was finally 6pm before I finished........DAMN!!!! WHAT a hot afternoon.....
The roofers left around 7:30pm....and after I showered, I fixed a "Panera Bread" salad......I cup up some of those incredible fresh tomatoes that I have been purchasing at the local fresh produce store, cut up some mozzarella cheese into chunks, took one of the tortillas we had purchased at Trader Joe's....cut it up into bite sized pieces, and then drizzled EVO over all it including salt and pepper......and VOILA!!!!! A delightful, tart and wonderfully flavorful fresh salad......and OMG, it was sooooo good!!!
This evening......I have just reclined on the wonderful sofa with the built-in chaise and watched the plasma for a couple of short hours.....kicking back and relaxing. My body is really, really angry with me...and is letting me know just how badly it feels!!!!! My mind continues to work overtime on the morning where everything mechanical went wrong. However, it was sooo much better for those batteries to die on me here in town rather than some damn rest stop in the middle of hot and dry Kansas next week as we drive across that not-so-pleasant state on the way to Colorado.
The roofers got the front half of the house shingled, but the details have not been completed....and they still have the next half, the guttering, the rubber roof sections to do, and the chimney to fix. I believe it is going to take them longer than they anticipated. The roof in the front looks great and will look better with the new guttering......love the architectural shingles.....a 3D look with shades of dark brown!
Yes.....YES,YES....I hear you, damn it!!!! My body is now screaming out at me for mistreating it this afternoon.....and I suppose I will have to humor it, since it IS elderly!!!! Time for a relaxing cup of tea, a piece of chocolate....and soon obey it's wishes.....and lay it down on the bed. But.....even with "it" in revolt tonight.......as always........
LIFE IS JUST REALLY, REALLY GREAT!!!!!!......And, I hope it is for all of you, also!!!!!
Thursday, August 06, 2009
THURSDAY: A great morning....including a great visit!
This morning wasn't quite as humid as yesterday......and sure glad of it. I was up about 6:30, took care of the morning rituals....which this morning included working on a bit of soap scum which I have been able to feel on the shower walls....and so, that took me a good 15 minutes to clean them as well as the huge clear glass shower doors. When we special ordered this shower and doors, we mad certain that the doors were a quarter of an inch thick so they wouldn't "rattle" when closing them,. etc. And....they have worked out quite nicely, even though three years ago they were a pain in the ass to get.....long, long story, so I won't go into it again.
I had my morning Fr. Roast coffee on the patio.....which is nicely shaded until about mid-morning. Around 10am.....my former piano student who had studied with me for several years came by. And.....sitting on the patio we talked for quite some time....covering a lot of subjects dealing with his Life. It is ALWAYS good to see him....and to learn just how he is doing with his Life,..........he will be a second year college student this fall.
The afternoon......well, THANK GOD....the contractor for the installation of the new shingles, etc on the roof arrived......and soooo, the wonderful sounds of scraping and pounding on the roof went on until almost 6pm. They got about half of the roof cleared of the old shingles....the ones that still remained.....and that part then they finished putting down the underlayment paper. Soooooo glad to hear all of that noise on the roof.......it is two days shy of three months since the inland hurricane tore up our small town....and I am so happy to begin to see that we will not be living under blue tarps for much longer!!!!
The 1st Lady is on her way back down here as I type. She has been at her mother's home for the past couple of days. Last night, Dr. Jeni/Darrel, and three kids surprised them and arrived at her Mom's house pulling a new boat. Soooo, of course, they spent most of the day on the Lake there...Mark Twain Lake...just west of Hannibal. I think it was about 7:30 when she finally got on the road to return here.....about 200 miles.
A quick day tomorrow.....and then we will return to Monroe City on Saturday for the 1st Lady's 45th class reunion. She hasn't been to a reunion for years and years and years, so this should quite interesting!!!
As it began to cool down about 6pm this evening.....I spent an hour on the ladder waxing and polishing the front end of the RV......twice. Seems that any more, one waxing is not enough....and even with the sun almost gone.....it was quite warm and humid.....enough that I was soaked....not a dry stitch on my sagging body by the time I finished. I do not believe I am going to have the time to get the entire trailer done before we leave for the Wild West next week. Just running out of time.....and cool enough weather to get it completed.
And sooooooo, another day has shortened my Life by slipping past soooo quickly!!! But....as always........
LIFE IS JUST REALLY, REALLY GREAT!!!!!......And, I hope it is for all of you, also!!!!!
I had my morning Fr. Roast coffee on the patio.....which is nicely shaded until about mid-morning. Around 10am.....my former piano student who had studied with me for several years came by. And.....sitting on the patio we talked for quite some time....covering a lot of subjects dealing with his Life. It is ALWAYS good to see him....and to learn just how he is doing with his Life,..........he will be a second year college student this fall.
The afternoon......well, THANK GOD....the contractor for the installation of the new shingles, etc on the roof arrived......and soooo, the wonderful sounds of scraping and pounding on the roof went on until almost 6pm. They got about half of the roof cleared of the old shingles....the ones that still remained.....and that part then they finished putting down the underlayment paper. Soooooo glad to hear all of that noise on the roof.......it is two days shy of three months since the inland hurricane tore up our small town....and I am so happy to begin to see that we will not be living under blue tarps for much longer!!!!
The 1st Lady is on her way back down here as I type. She has been at her mother's home for the past couple of days. Last night, Dr. Jeni/Darrel, and three kids surprised them and arrived at her Mom's house pulling a new boat. Soooo, of course, they spent most of the day on the Lake there...Mark Twain Lake...just west of Hannibal. I think it was about 7:30 when she finally got on the road to return here.....about 200 miles.
A quick day tomorrow.....and then we will return to Monroe City on Saturday for the 1st Lady's 45th class reunion. She hasn't been to a reunion for years and years and years, so this should quite interesting!!!
As it began to cool down about 6pm this evening.....I spent an hour on the ladder waxing and polishing the front end of the RV......twice. Seems that any more, one waxing is not enough....and even with the sun almost gone.....it was quite warm and humid.....enough that I was soaked....not a dry stitch on my sagging body by the time I finished. I do not believe I am going to have the time to get the entire trailer done before we leave for the Wild West next week. Just running out of time.....and cool enough weather to get it completed.
And sooooooo, another day has shortened my Life by slipping past soooo quickly!!! But....as always........
LIFE IS JUST REALLY, REALLY GREAT!!!!!......And, I hope it is for all of you, also!!!!!
Wednesday, August 05, 2009
Wednesday: WHEW....the weather has become a negative factor in my life.....again!
After I wrote yesterday morning.........the day became more and more humid as the clouds became thicker...and then by later afternoon, we were under severe thunderstorm watches...then warnings including hail and high winds....DAMN!!! However......luck was with us and all we got were some horrendous downpours of rain. Not sure how much we received, because it came in just really hard cloud bursts with no wind, but just constant water as if it was being poured out of a bucket above us!
Today.......when I got up and opened the drapes....the windows were all fogged over.......and that intense humidity out there never left all day. My planned late afternoon of waxing the front of the 5er fell through....as I just have a REAL problem with humidity and getting anything accomplished outside when the humidity is high!!
Soooo....luckily I had invited Michael Goldsmith over for coffee this morning........and coffee we did have!!!! Over the almost 3.5 hours, we drank a lot, but we talked and discussed and laughed and enjoyed much more than the amount of coffee we drank. Not having had this much time together for a long time, we never found a period in our conversation.....and I had no idea the morning had slipped away into the early afternoon. Had I known, I would have fixed a couple of paninis for an easy lunch......sorry Michael!! The range of our topics of discussion was wide and varied.....and yet, we still had more that we could have touched on had we had more time. As the saying goes....."Time flies when you are having fun"....and it is sooooo true!!!
My afternoon began with a quick sandwich....and before I knew it, it was time to run over to the local Produce Stand...they are open MWF from 2-4 or 5pm....and when I got there he was just getting the signs out on the street. I grabbed a bunch of those wonderful fresh tomatoes...and returned to the hill and the stick and brick. His tomatoes are sooooooooo damn wonderful, soooo acidic with a great tomato aroma......something that isn't there in those god-awful store bought tomatoes!!!
I spent the remainder of the afternoon working on lists, yearbooks, etc., etc. attempting to get as many names of my former students into the computer....and this is sooo damn difficult to do. I just cannot remember 25-30 years ago who was in band or choir........there has to be a better way....and one that we can get done ASAP.
I had a couple of phone calls from former students this afternoon.....and it was a pleasant way to pass some time....always, ALWAYS sooo great to visit with them!!! THANKS guys for calling. I also, during the afternoon, located a former percussion player whom I have kept up with over the past 10-11 years, but had lost his address when he moved from Arizona to Colorado to do some advanced graduate studies at Colorado State University. He has only recently returned from India where he was to spend the summer on a university project, but he became almost deathly ill and had to be removed and brought back here to the states. After getting his phone number, I texted him that we would be in Estes Park at the end of next week....and so....we are going to try to get together for a drink or two....or three...or more. The last time we were together was three years ago, I believe...in Tucson where we met him for dinner. HAHAHA...the time before that he and I had gone over to Nogales, Mexico....and almost weren't able to get back to the border......those margaritas were....incredible!!
And sooooo, my day passed quickly inside my air conditioned stick and brick. Tomorrow...another former student is coming over in the morning.....been almost a year since I have visited with him and I AM looking forwarding to hearing of his first year in college...and how his initial goals and plans might have changed with the experiences he has had in his university courses.
The 1st Lady is to return tomorrow....and...perhaps the contractor and his work crew will be here to put on my new roof?????!!!! But......what is one more day if they do not make it tomorrow???? It will be this week!!! And....as always........
LIFE IS JUST REALLY, REALLY GREAT!!!!!!!.....And, I hope it is for all of you, also!!!!!
Today.......when I got up and opened the drapes....the windows were all fogged over.......and that intense humidity out there never left all day. My planned late afternoon of waxing the front of the 5er fell through....as I just have a REAL problem with humidity and getting anything accomplished outside when the humidity is high!!
Soooo....luckily I had invited Michael Goldsmith over for coffee this morning........and coffee we did have!!!! Over the almost 3.5 hours, we drank a lot, but we talked and discussed and laughed and enjoyed much more than the amount of coffee we drank. Not having had this much time together for a long time, we never found a period in our conversation.....and I had no idea the morning had slipped away into the early afternoon. Had I known, I would have fixed a couple of paninis for an easy lunch......sorry Michael!! The range of our topics of discussion was wide and varied.....and yet, we still had more that we could have touched on had we had more time. As the saying goes....."Time flies when you are having fun"....and it is sooooo true!!!
My afternoon began with a quick sandwich....and before I knew it, it was time to run over to the local Produce Stand...they are open MWF from 2-4 or 5pm....and when I got there he was just getting the signs out on the street. I grabbed a bunch of those wonderful fresh tomatoes...and returned to the hill and the stick and brick. His tomatoes are sooooooooo damn wonderful, soooo acidic with a great tomato aroma......something that isn't there in those god-awful store bought tomatoes!!!
I spent the remainder of the afternoon working on lists, yearbooks, etc., etc. attempting to get as many names of my former students into the computer....and this is sooo damn difficult to do. I just cannot remember 25-30 years ago who was in band or choir........there has to be a better way....and one that we can get done ASAP.
I had a couple of phone calls from former students this afternoon.....and it was a pleasant way to pass some time....always, ALWAYS sooo great to visit with them!!! THANKS guys for calling. I also, during the afternoon, located a former percussion player whom I have kept up with over the past 10-11 years, but had lost his address when he moved from Arizona to Colorado to do some advanced graduate studies at Colorado State University. He has only recently returned from India where he was to spend the summer on a university project, but he became almost deathly ill and had to be removed and brought back here to the states. After getting his phone number, I texted him that we would be in Estes Park at the end of next week....and so....we are going to try to get together for a drink or two....or three...or more. The last time we were together was three years ago, I believe...in Tucson where we met him for dinner. HAHAHA...the time before that he and I had gone over to Nogales, Mexico....and almost weren't able to get back to the border......those margaritas were....incredible!!
And sooooo, my day passed quickly inside my air conditioned stick and brick. Tomorrow...another former student is coming over in the morning.....been almost a year since I have visited with him and I AM looking forwarding to hearing of his first year in college...and how his initial goals and plans might have changed with the experiences he has had in his university courses.
The 1st Lady is to return tomorrow....and...perhaps the contractor and his work crew will be here to put on my new roof?????!!!! But......what is one more day if they do not make it tomorrow???? It will be this week!!! And....as always........
LIFE IS JUST REALLY, REALLY GREAT!!!!!!!.....And, I hope it is for all of you, also!!!!!
Tuesday, August 04, 2009
TUESDAY AM: Tech problems, and return of summer Misery...
WOW....I know that many of you have contacted me to see if everything is ok with me and mine.....and, as far as that.....we are fine. However, yesterday...early evening....all of a sudden my laptop just totally froze(not because of the weather).....and it wouldn't even shut down normally. After getting frustrated, I turned it off by holding he on/off button down.....and then it wouldn't come back on any more.
Well.....I went and dug my paperwork, etc. out of the folder where I keep it....and did get a human being within about 8 minutes.....in the Philippines, of course. However, after over an hour with the young(?) man, and he had to take control of this laptop from over there.....I was up and running, even though everything seemed just a bit hesitant when I would try to do something on it. Well.........
Then I realized that my Norton Anti-virus program was flashing at me.....so, I tried to FIX the problem which said that my computer was a RISK......well, I couldn't get anything on my Norton 360 program to work at all. The Toshiba guy had me go back to an earlier date....Aug 1st...and restore everything to that date....which got things working for me on Round 1. Soooo, this time I contacted Norton and finally.....FINALLY.....reached their help chat line and got an individual there to work with me on this problem......! Well......it took an hour and a half before he was able to get things up and running again, only by uninstalling the edition of Norton which was on my laptop....and installing a new edition.....and all of this took BIG TIME ...like two hours!!!! He, too took control of the laptop, but after the new edition was installed......the anti-virus program worked great.....and it has a lot more protection than the old one.
Next thing: Time to write this post......
I got ready to write on here, but after taking a few pictures yesterday, I decided to put the pictures on the computer/Picasa....and when I plugged everything up thru the USB port, the computer would not recognized the camera!!!!!!! I tried everything......even reloading the cd disk with the program from the Canon people for this camera.......no luck!! Soooooo, I once again called Toshiba....in the Philippines....and this time I got lucky!!! This guy knew what the hell he was doing with no problemo!!!!!! He took charge of the computer....and after an hour, he got it to recognize my camera.......and,
By this time it was MIDNIGHT!!!!! DAMN.....I was in no mental state to write on here....and as I do this right now, I don't think I am much better. It was a short night!!!!
Yesterday and the day before are now a blur to me. I did get up early yesterday to wax the rear end of the RV, but it was sooooooo wet from the humidity...I had to wait much longer than I wanted to.....so by the time I got it waxed and polished, the sun was bearing down on me and the rear of the trailer.....so I had to just call it a day.....at 9:30am!!!
On Sunday, I did spend three hours cleaning, washing, scrubbing, the awning...on both sides. It is 8' wide....and 21' feet long, so there is a lot of square footage to go over when doing this job correctly. On that day it was beautiful....not hot, not humid.....and even though I was in the sun for those wet hours, it really wasn't too bad. There had been some mold grow on the underneath side of the awning, up by where it is attached to the trailer.........the area that gets no sun, nor any way to dry out when it becomes wet. Not sure how that happens but it does. Soooo, I got on the ladder and went lengthywise, unrolling it about 18" at a time, then moving the ladder every so often so I could reach all of the top of the awning with a scrub brush, sponge, and soapy water.
After the top was all done, I then went under it and using a stronger cleaner, I got the mold off and all of the underneath side clean, also!!! It took about 3 hours or more.....and was not a job I enjoy doing just for the "fun" of it!!!! But....the end product is now really great!!!!
The 1st Lady left on Sunday morning to go spend a couple of days with Dr. Jeni and the kids....and then is going on up to her Mom's this morning. She will return here on Thurs.....and then on Sat, we both go back up there for her 45th class reunion that evening. Sunday, we are back at Dr. Jeni's for Max's 1st Birthday Party!!!!!!!! Yep, he is one year old.......bringing back memories of our hurried trip home last summer from Nova Scotia, and then next day leaving immediately for St. Petersburg, FL. A very busy few days of driving!!!!!
OK...this morning I am going to try to get this online and will see if the pictures can be added which I took yesterday. OH.......almost forgot......yesterday morning a huge truck arrived in front of the stick/brick and after unhooking/unloading this marvelous vehicle, they took the pallets of new shingles for my roof off of the truck and then lifted them with this incredible forklift type of vehicle, but quite differently constructed, and placed them on the roof in various locations. YEP.....THIS IS THE WEEK!!!!!!! Of course, big storms and rains are anticipated, soooooo, that might hold up their plans for tearing off the old shinges(what's left of them), rebuilding some of the actual plywood roof, and then putting on the new ones. Hopefully, by the end of the week, they will be able to do this!!!!!!!
Sooooo, I was supposed to run up to Farmington to meet my former piano student for coffee....but, he just this minute called to say that he has some "company" at home, so we will have to do this later this week. Not a problem....but I do need to go to Farmington, so since this morning the humidity factor must be 110percent, I may go ahead and do that. Ahhhhh....I will try to post this evening, if this laptop continues to work as it should........?????????
Even with all of the tech problems....and aren't they soooooo damn frustrating?????........as always....
LIFE IS JUST REALLY, REALLY GREAT!!!!!.....And, I hope it is for all of you, also!!!!!
Well.....I went and dug my paperwork, etc. out of the folder where I keep it....and did get a human being within about 8 minutes.....in the Philippines, of course. However, after over an hour with the young(?) man, and he had to take control of this laptop from over there.....I was up and running, even though everything seemed just a bit hesitant when I would try to do something on it. Well.........
Then I realized that my Norton Anti-virus program was flashing at me.....so, I tried to FIX the problem which said that my computer was a RISK......well, I couldn't get anything on my Norton 360 program to work at all. The Toshiba guy had me go back to an earlier date....Aug 1st...and restore everything to that date....which got things working for me on Round 1. Soooo, this time I contacted Norton and finally.....FINALLY.....reached their help chat line and got an individual there to work with me on this problem......! Well......it took an hour and a half before he was able to get things up and running again, only by uninstalling the edition of Norton which was on my laptop....and installing a new edition.....and all of this took BIG TIME ...like two hours!!!! He, too took control of the laptop, but after the new edition was installed......the anti-virus program worked great.....and it has a lot more protection than the old one.
Next thing: Time to write this post......
I got ready to write on here, but after taking a few pictures yesterday, I decided to put the pictures on the computer/Picasa....and when I plugged everything up thru the USB port, the computer would not recognized the camera!!!!!!! I tried everything......even reloading the cd disk with the program from the Canon people for this camera.......no luck!! Soooooo, I once again called Toshiba....in the Philippines....and this time I got lucky!!! This guy knew what the hell he was doing with no problemo!!!!!! He took charge of the computer....and after an hour, he got it to recognize my camera.......and,
By this time it was MIDNIGHT!!!!! DAMN.....I was in no mental state to write on here....and as I do this right now, I don't think I am much better. It was a short night!!!!
Yesterday and the day before are now a blur to me. I did get up early yesterday to wax the rear end of the RV, but it was sooooooo wet from the humidity...I had to wait much longer than I wanted to.....so by the time I got it waxed and polished, the sun was bearing down on me and the rear of the trailer.....so I had to just call it a day.....at 9:30am!!!
On Sunday, I did spend three hours cleaning, washing, scrubbing, the awning...on both sides. It is 8' wide....and 21' feet long, so there is a lot of square footage to go over when doing this job correctly. On that day it was beautiful....not hot, not humid.....and even though I was in the sun for those wet hours, it really wasn't too bad. There had been some mold grow on the underneath side of the awning, up by where it is attached to the trailer.........the area that gets no sun, nor any way to dry out when it becomes wet. Not sure how that happens but it does. Soooo, I got on the ladder and went lengthywise, unrolling it about 18" at a time, then moving the ladder every so often so I could reach all of the top of the awning with a scrub brush, sponge, and soapy water.
After the top was all done, I then went under it and using a stronger cleaner, I got the mold off and all of the underneath side clean, also!!! It took about 3 hours or more.....and was not a job I enjoy doing just for the "fun" of it!!!! But....the end product is now really great!!!!
The 1st Lady left on Sunday morning to go spend a couple of days with Dr. Jeni and the kids....and then is going on up to her Mom's this morning. She will return here on Thurs.....and then on Sat, we both go back up there for her 45th class reunion that evening. Sunday, we are back at Dr. Jeni's for Max's 1st Birthday Party!!!!!!!! Yep, he is one year old.......bringing back memories of our hurried trip home last summer from Nova Scotia, and then next day leaving immediately for St. Petersburg, FL. A very busy few days of driving!!!!!
OK...this morning I am going to try to get this online and will see if the pictures can be added which I took yesterday. OH.......almost forgot......yesterday morning a huge truck arrived in front of the stick/brick and after unhooking/unloading this marvelous vehicle, they took the pallets of new shingles for my roof off of the truck and then lifted them with this incredible forklift type of vehicle, but quite differently constructed, and placed them on the roof in various locations. YEP.....THIS IS THE WEEK!!!!!!! Of course, big storms and rains are anticipated, soooooo, that might hold up their plans for tearing off the old shinges(what's left of them), rebuilding some of the actual plywood roof, and then putting on the new ones. Hopefully, by the end of the week, they will be able to do this!!!!!!!
Sooooo, I was supposed to run up to Farmington to meet my former piano student for coffee....but, he just this minute called to say that he has some "company" at home, so we will have to do this later this week. Not a problem....but I do need to go to Farmington, so since this morning the humidity factor must be 110percent, I may go ahead and do that. Ahhhhh....I will try to post this evening, if this laptop continues to work as it should........?????????
Even with all of the tech problems....and aren't they soooooo damn frustrating?????........as always....
LIFE IS JUST REALLY, REALLY GREAT!!!!!.....And, I hope it is for all of you, also!!!!!
Saturday, August 01, 2009
SATURDAY: WOW...these days fly by sooo quickly I don't have time to write!!!!
Yesterday???? At 7am, without a cup of coffee in my veins, I took the truck over to the Kemp's Auto Body Shop...and left it to have the windshield replaced, the right outside mirror replaced, and the front right door window level check out, as it did not work at all. And then.....I walked back to the stick and brick, had a quick mug of Fr. Roast, changed into my yard working clothes(shorts and t-shirt and UGLY old tennis shoes)....and began the dreaded task of mowing the wet yard. Hmmmm.....with the temps in the 60's when I began, the sky bright blue with very little humidity, the job of getting our large yard mowed was relatively easy....THANK GOD!!!!
I finished in just under three hours.....and then realized we had not made a firm decision on the color of shingles that had to be order during the afternoon. Sooooo, with me dripping personal moisture drops whever I walked and sat, the 1st Lady and I jumped into the car...she drove...and we checked out a couple of places that had just had the color of shingles we were discussing, installed on their roofs. On one house, we were not certain if it was the garage or the house which had the color, as each building had a different shade of brown on it. Soooo, I placed a call to the owner and he confirmed what I thought.....the house had the correct shade of brown on the roof.
Returning to our stick/brick, I called our roofing contractor and gave him the "final answer"....and so, he informed us that the shingles would be placed on our roof on Monday, in packages. YEAH!!!!!!
OOPS.....I then realized that I had an appt. at 1pm to have our tires rotated and balanced on the Park Avenue......sooo, with those many drops of personal moisture still dropping whever I went, I jumped into the shower to do something about cleaning up the sagging hulk of me. And.....I did manage to get the car to the shop in time!!!! And, 20 minutes later I was driving home again.
The afternoon flew by as we discussed the coming week...and the 1st Lady changed her plans for the week. She decided she would go to Dr. Jeni's tomorrow(Sunday) and then leave there on Tuesday and go to her Mother's in Monroe City. She will return here on Thursday evening, will go visit Mike on Friday, and then both of us will go to Monroe City on Saturday for her 45th high school class reunion!! The next day we will drive back to Dr. Jeni's, attend Max's 1st birthday party, and then come on down to the stick and brick, which will then give us two days to get ready to pull out of here on the 12th......to be gone 6-7 weeks. WHEW!!!!!!
After using our new BBQ grill.....a Weber Q-120 which arrived this afternoon.....I was very satisfied with our decision!!!!!!!!!!!! Works beautifully....and I love the weight and construction of the grill!!!!! It is solid.....it retains the heat really well.....and it also really looks great for a smaller grill that is portable and can be loaded into the basement of TheHowserHouse for our travels!!!!
Last night was spent in communicating with others online.....all in regards to the upcoming HowserMusicFest......the name given for the reunion of all of my former students, to be held next July. Lots of work to be done with lots of coordination from those who are assigned their various tasks/projects.
TODAY........we were up at 5:45 this morning....GOOD GOD....I don't remember having to drag my sagging hulk out of the bed that early in a long, long time!!!! By 7am, we were off to southeast MO to visit Mike this morning. The afternoon was spent in Cape G. visiting Becky and Rachel and doing a bit of shopping for new clothes for the 1st Lady to wear at her reunion next weekend. We met Becky/Rachel at Panera Bread for a light supper and some fun conversation.....a really great supper!!! We returned to the stick/brick around 7:30.....and have been busy just catching up, making more plans...lists...plans for the wedding in Puerto Vallarta in November....and thoughts about Jeremy's wedding in early March in Mobile, Alabama. Our schedule is just completely filled for the next half year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And sooooooo it goes......tomorrow I need to get the awning on the RV scrubbed and washed...and then begin the waxing of the trailer.....UGH...UGH....UGH!!!!!!!! I am getting sore....just thinking about doing it!!!
A good day....actually a good TWO days.....and, as always.......
LIFE IS JUST REALLY, REALLY GREAT!!!!!!.....And, I hope it is for all of you, also!!!!!
( A very different perspective to a current national discussion:)
http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=252062015400&h=mebts&u=QQN2N&ref=mf
I finished in just under three hours.....and then realized we had not made a firm decision on the color of shingles that had to be order during the afternoon. Sooooo, with me dripping personal moisture drops whever I walked and sat, the 1st Lady and I jumped into the car...she drove...and we checked out a couple of places that had just had the color of shingles we were discussing, installed on their roofs. On one house, we were not certain if it was the garage or the house which had the color, as each building had a different shade of brown on it. Soooo, I placed a call to the owner and he confirmed what I thought.....the house had the correct shade of brown on the roof.
Returning to our stick/brick, I called our roofing contractor and gave him the "final answer"....and so, he informed us that the shingles would be placed on our roof on Monday, in packages. YEAH!!!!!!
OOPS.....I then realized that I had an appt. at 1pm to have our tires rotated and balanced on the Park Avenue......sooo, with those many drops of personal moisture still dropping whever I went, I jumped into the shower to do something about cleaning up the sagging hulk of me. And.....I did manage to get the car to the shop in time!!!! And, 20 minutes later I was driving home again.
The afternoon flew by as we discussed the coming week...and the 1st Lady changed her plans for the week. She decided she would go to Dr. Jeni's tomorrow(Sunday) and then leave there on Tuesday and go to her Mother's in Monroe City. She will return here on Thursday evening, will go visit Mike on Friday, and then both of us will go to Monroe City on Saturday for her 45th high school class reunion!! The next day we will drive back to Dr. Jeni's, attend Max's 1st birthday party, and then come on down to the stick and brick, which will then give us two days to get ready to pull out of here on the 12th......to be gone 6-7 weeks. WHEW!!!!!!
After using our new BBQ grill.....a Weber Q-120 which arrived this afternoon.....I was very satisfied with our decision!!!!!!!!!!!! Works beautifully....and I love the weight and construction of the grill!!!!! It is solid.....it retains the heat really well.....and it also really looks great for a smaller grill that is portable and can be loaded into the basement of TheHowserHouse for our travels!!!!
Last night was spent in communicating with others online.....all in regards to the upcoming HowserMusicFest......the name given for the reunion of all of my former students, to be held next July. Lots of work to be done with lots of coordination from those who are assigned their various tasks/projects.
TODAY........we were up at 5:45 this morning....GOOD GOD....I don't remember having to drag my sagging hulk out of the bed that early in a long, long time!!!! By 7am, we were off to southeast MO to visit Mike this morning. The afternoon was spent in Cape G. visiting Becky and Rachel and doing a bit of shopping for new clothes for the 1st Lady to wear at her reunion next weekend. We met Becky/Rachel at Panera Bread for a light supper and some fun conversation.....a really great supper!!! We returned to the stick/brick around 7:30.....and have been busy just catching up, making more plans...lists...plans for the wedding in Puerto Vallarta in November....and thoughts about Jeremy's wedding in early March in Mobile, Alabama. Our schedule is just completely filled for the next half year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And sooooooo it goes......tomorrow I need to get the awning on the RV scrubbed and washed...and then begin the waxing of the trailer.....UGH...UGH....UGH!!!!!!!! I am getting sore....just thinking about doing it!!!
A good day....actually a good TWO days.....and, as always.......
LIFE IS JUST REALLY, REALLY GREAT!!!!!!.....And, I hope it is for all of you, also!!!!!
( A very different perspective to a current national discussion:)
http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=252062015400&h=mebts&u=QQN2N&ref=mf
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)