Window Washer

So the window washers (3 of them) came yesterday and did a whirlwind job. But when we got up this morning, we noticed that they FORGOT to clean 8 windows at the peak of the house. And one guy had interrupted my husband in one room; and told him he would come back to clean the window before they left. But it wasn't done. Plus, the windows are streaky & splotchy. So I was not very happy. I have left a message for the owner to call me as it appears they were closed today. Hopefully they can come back to correct all this as I have been entirely happy with their service up to this time...

The basement is ready for furniture. Vacuumed, cleaned, and organized! So we will probably be working on getting stuff soon.

Hubby has to finish up a few vehicles that he promised, then we will be able to run into town to get bed, bedding, etc.

Another thing came together as somebody emailed me with a surprise for the goonies when they come. The surprise should be here when they come if I can rely on the USPS to deliver the product in a timely manner. Sorry to be so vague, but I don't want to reveal any details yet.

The carpet cleaner FINALLY returned my phone message of over a week ago - and they will only be able to come out after the kids arrive. Boo hoo. But I'm not too upset; at least the carpet will be getting cleaned. After a horrible winter & an awful spring - with dirty dog paw prints everywhere - the carpet really needs a thorough washandwax.

It was a beautiful sunny day today. Highs of about 73F. I took lunch down to the shop for Greg around 3pm - it was getting late and he didn't want to stop work to eat! Earl had stopped by to chat while Greg ate.

Hubby had to run up to the Hoodoo Valley to pick up the Jeep he had been working on - the people took it out this past weekend and broke the steering - so it will have to be fixed again. 4Wheeling is rough on everything. Anyway, on the way back from picking up the jeep with our trailer - we saw a Mommy duck & 11 baby ducks crossing the road. Almost ran over them, but I yelled at Greg in time for him to slow down. Sure wish I had taken my camera with me so I could have caught the adorable little things waddling across the road-oh well.

We stopped in Spirit Lake to pick up groceries & then returned home. A very nice spring day.

Hoping

Hoping to get it all done in time. Of course, my wonderful husband always leaves everything to the last minute.

Somehow, on Memorial Day - a HOLIDAY - everybody decided to stop and bother Greg. With his mind so discombobulated on several different subjects at once, he got so confused that he started to cut into the base of the shower stall and almost ruined it before Chad stopped him. Greg started swearing up a storm at himself...knowing that he had done something wrong. The part that he was trying to insert by cutting up the stall - was actually supposed to be installed from the bottom - then the stall installed above it - then a top cover put over for the drain.

See Chad at work ---->

We had several loads for the dump; a load for donation; and I was able to get a lot of things organized in the closets.

The basement is a stinkin' mess with sawdust everywhere. I think I even have sawdust in my ears! SEVEN days and the kids will be here. I am ready to tear my hair out. I already busted all my fingernails off, so I will have to hurry over to the manicurist for a massive repair job.

Greg is at the foot doctor (again) while I am staying home waiting for the window cleaners to arrive. After he gets done at the doctor's office he is going to pick up a couple things for the shower to finish it; door handles, and the necessary materials for the pond.
I. AM. GOING. TO. FINISH. THE. POND. THIS. YEAR.

Countdown Continues

The countdown continues and I am beginning to get very nervous now.

I have to fight Greg on everything that needs to be done around here and he doesn't seem to realize that there is an urgency about needing things finished.

Is it just MY husband or is it ALL men that have such an attitude. Right now, he is playing around outside in the burn pile rather than come inside to do the million and one things that need to be done.

If I just push down the frustration...maybe I'll be OK. Maybe not.

Perhaps we should just rent a room for the kids in town, so that none of this needs to be done. Or worried about.

eXciting!

It's been an exciting few days here.

SO cold around here lately that we have had to turn on the fireplace to heat the house. Rain&cold weather. Brrrrrrr. Is it truly summer?

Our yard light & the neighbor's yard light were both shot out on Tuesday night. We had to call the cops to report it, and the elec co-op finally rolled in this morning at 7am to fix them. It was an anxious couple nights as it was pitch black.

Thieves had broken into the home across the street about a week ago and stolen all their appliances. When hubby-bub was in A-town, there was talk of several robberies of a similar MO happening...so we thought for sure that when the lights had been shot out that we were going to be next on the list.

Isabelle has discovered a new fascination with moles - specifically mole holes. I will try to capture her on film when she starts to dig. It is SO comical. The dirt that she throws lands up to 10 feet away sometimes. She is a maniac when it comes to digging. We have never had a mole problem in the past, but this year they must have found a welcome mat out in our yard. Mole infestation runs rampant.

Greg has been working diligently on cleaning up his shop; and burnt the slash from the yard in the pit on Tuesday. The flames from the fire were higher than 35 feet! Amazing. Grey smoke clouded the entire area.

Got an Ebates check in the mail yesterday! I'm rich, be-itch~!

After his graduation party, Joe's 21-y.o. kid decided to borrow his mom's car with her permission (even tho Joe has said NO repeatedly...) and went to pick up his girlfriend. Showing off the powerful engine, the kid decides he's going to show how much of a macho idiot he actually is as he goes faster, and faster. Counting up as he speeds -80- 90- 95- 100- 115-! They left the road and didn't land until 80 feet later. It's a miracle the both of them are alive. The car looks like a peeled sardine can! Narrowly missing a fence & utility light pole - they emerge unscathed. Instead of contacting the authorities to advise of the accident, Joe's kid calls his dad to come get him and the girlfriend walks home! Joe talks to the homeowner and advises that he will be back in the A.M. to clean it all up (the accident happened 2am on a back county road). The cops arrive later after the girlfriend talks to her dad when she gets home. There is a pile of tickets that are issued. Speeding - Leaving The Scene of An Accident - Reckless Endangerment - Etc. Which are all pretty ser-i-ous. The kid is probably looking at some jail time here and a serious outlay of cash on the fines! And I really don't think that it was a case of drunk driving - but just plain S.T.U.P.I.D.I.T.Y. Be warned folks - Don't Drive Dumb.

Appointments for cleaning the carpet, washing windows & getting my hair done are all for next week so everything should be done by the time the demon spawn arrive.

The sprogs come in on Monday, 2 June at night. Countdown begins!

Ouh-t-side

Been nice here lately, so have been working outside. Picking up pinecones that have accumulated. Where am I? Think I am up to about 50 or more wheelbarrows full. The temperature has been in the 80s F lately! Almost too hot. Yesterday it felt like the house was baking.

Have to install the swamp cooler this weekend - but by Friday the weather predictions are for 50 degrees again. So should we disconnect the pilot light in the fireplace?

It was so hot yesterday that the smells in the woods were wonderful. The pine was really radiating along with the grass. I love to recline in the hammock, swinging to the sunshine & smell of evergreen around me.

My daughter reminded me that we would pay her a big $20 to go out and pick up all the branches on the ground every spring. Maybe when they come back in June, I'll flip her a few $s and she can help pick them up again!

I think I feel in the mood for watermelon tonight.

Sappy-R Than A Romance Novel

Woot! Per verification with the IRS (internal revenue service) website our tax refund will be mailed on May 23; and we should be receiving it by the end of the month. WHY does that make me so excited? The government uses our money for a whole year without having to pay us interest and we are grateful to get a refund. That sounds so wrong.

This is a free design sample from Dover Design Publications; to me - it seems sappier than any cover of a romance novel that I have ever seen. Women will do anything for a man in uniform?

Joe is here working on the driveway and picking up downed tree branches. They will be put into the large pit and burnt tonight. The large boulders on one side of the driveway have already been placed, but since last year when the Avista natural gas crew were here we have lost about 10 of our larger boulders. I plan to submit a bill to both Avista & the crew that worked on planting the line through our driveway as they did not rebuild our driveway to what it was before they decimated it.

I am sincerely glad that the boulders have been put back where they belong as the ATVs & motorcycles have been ripping through here at about 50mph - all weekend long. Obviously the gas shortage is not bothering these people and they have money to waste on ruining other people's property. Our driveway that Joe had built back up the previous weekend was again damaged by these imbeciles racing over it. How they don't think that it is not illegal to drive on the state highway right-of-way is beyond my comprehension. IT IS ILLEGAL to drive a motorized vehicle on the state right-of-way.

The large & obnoxious signs at the edge of Clagstone & Hwy 54 were finally removed and I didn't even have to submit my pictures or complain again. Someone else besides me must have finally seen that the signs obliberated the oncoming traffic and were placed illegally on the state right-of-way.

And the signs that are placed at the sides of the road for voting were removed. Again, these were illegal as they were placed in the state right-of-way. Does anybody know that it is ILLEGAL to place any type of sign on a utility pole? This does fall under the terrorist act - and if they wanted, the utility companies could have a person arrested if they were caught doing this. Furthermore, it is ILLEGAL to place any type of sign on a Stop sign, a Yield sign, or any sign placed by a road department. Please remember this when placing your "Yard Sale" signs. People! Don't be Stupid.

There are large black thunder clouds to the north, threatening to dump rain on us. Hopefully, the guys will get some work done today before the clouds open up.

All is going well with the remodel - Chad (not Chad-is-Bad, but the OTHER Chad) is going to help Greg work on it. Chad is a construction worker by trade and said that he can get the necessary improvements done in ONE day. We'll see...

Isabelle's ear seems to be all healed up; the doctor's office called the other day. I really appreciate the special service that they offer. No other office will call to verify that the diagnosis was accurate and to find out how the medicine is working. What is puzzling to us is why Isabelle will alternate resting on her bed as opposed to being on the floor. Usually she will NOT sleep on the floor, but in the last week she has been getting off her bed and sleeping down on the carpet in her room more often. Maybe her hips are bothering her? I surely hope not.

Hubby got his "special award" in the mail the other day - his air-freshener clock he had sent away for - isn't this just the dorkiest? He ripped into the package as if it were the best present he had ever gotten in his whole life. Needless to say, it will be hung up in his shop.

Mother's Day

It was extremely challenging to get through this day...on Sunday as I have no mothers left. All of my actual mothers and pseudo-mothers have passed away. I'm an orphan. All alone in the world.

Hubby had gotten tulips, and muffins for me; Izzy got me a card. The dog on the front of the card looks exactly like her!
My real baby sent me a card that I received on Monday. When she and my son arrive in June, they will be taking me out to buy me a PRESENT.

Have spent lots of time getting the house cleaned and working on the remodel for the basement. Started the annual PP -- Pinecone Pickup. The count is 25 wheelbarrows full and it doesn't even look like there is any difference in the yard. Still lying on the ground are massive amounts of p-cones!

Today is a trip into town to get the closet doors & misc wood for the remodel.

Did I mention that Isabelle has been eating blueberry muffins lately? When we stopped at the latte stand about a week ago, they were out of doggy cookies - so we got a muffin instead. How many dogs like fruit?

Spent about 1 hour on the phone yesterday getting new home insurance which should reduce our premium $1000 per year! Imagine that - plus as we will be consolidating all our insurance through one company, they will reduce our car insurance by 15%. That will save an immense amount of money.

Siete de Mayo

Missed Cinco de Mayo, but we did go out to celebrate. After my first belly-dancing class on Monday night, we stopped at Sonic to get a Coney Dog. Then ran over to Wendy's for cheeseburgers for the dog.


Wendy's have changed their 99¢ Bacon Cheeseburger so that it is now $1.29 and has a cheap thin outer paper instead of the heavy foil wrapper (probably going green) and the sandwich itself has a different beef; cheaper cheese, one piece of bacon instead of two, and a dried-out bun. The wrapper does not keep the sandwich warm on the way home - so this is not a deal anymore. Too bad Dave is dead. He would be outraged.


Isabelle has been shaking her ears lately, so when we investigated it appeared that she had bites within. We took her into the doctor yesterday at 11:45am - the vet tested a sample to diagnose a yeast infection. Two drops of liquid for the ears along with prednisone pills for the swelling will be routine for the next couple weeks. Poor dog.


Not wanting to jinx anything, I do have to say that it has not SNOWED for 3 days in a row here. The present snow that is on the ground actually is disappearing. However, we do have a few giant mounds here and there. Rain has been coming down for the past couple days - just lightly - so it is helping with our driveway rehabilitation.


Our Lifetime Guaranteed Levolor "Cordless" Mark 1 miniblinds quit working in 2 rooms; when we ordered them in 2000 I specifically got country colors to match the home - took the blind slat samples to Home Depot and had them mix custom colors to paint the doors for each room. Now we find out that they have discontinued the colors and we get to pick from some gross, disgusting bright colors. Frick.

My tulips are coming up all over. Amazing to see things like this with bits of snow inbetween. LOL!

Hubby and I have been following the Austrian Incest case with an unhealthy interest. Just when you think you have "heard it all" something comes along to shock the senses yet again. Did you realize that even Wikipedia has a page devoted to it already? Technology. Gotta love it.

Has It Really Been That Long?

I thought that I had blogged yesterday, but it seems that nothing is on here. Really, I should be noting the exciting things of my life!

But nothing exciting happens anymore. Life just seems to be plodding away.

Greg was helping Joe yesterday to move the equipment to our property so they can start on our drive.

This is the new Forklift!

Earl was over yesterday to tune up the Forklift and we had to get a new battery.

I cleaned house, did laundry, walked the dog & relaxed.

Yesterday, our best friends had to put their Greyhound - Fargo - down as he was suffering from advanced cancer in his hip. The operation to diagnose had been last week and he had been in lots of pain ever since. After a night of intense agony, where they had to give him lots of medication, they finally made the decision. Fargo can now run in doggy heaven to his heart's content. Love you, boy!

Today we were supposed to pick up the chipper/shredder, but they didn't have it ready; we will get it on Monday so I can clean up the yard of all the piles of branches.

While at Wally-World, I saw an old friend that I used to work with at the State of I-dah-hoe. She was happy to see me and suggested we meet for lunch next week. That might be exciting!