To set the stage - in our department at TVCC (The Very Conservative Corporation), the Helpdesk has an on-call person. Currently, this duty rotates between Ms. Packratty, Our Hardware Wizard (a quiet man, packed with knowledge) and the Massive Minister (at least 500 lbs. + and a youth minister at some church). The drama also includes SBM, a co-worker who has usually been quiet and had hitherto projected a pleasant demeanor.
So anyway, Ms. Packratty had taken the oncall laptop and Blackberry from MM on Monday and assumed her weekly duties. Tuesday midday, while out at lunch, the Blackberry started chiming in her pocket. When she checked the Blackberry, she discovered that MM had apparently been using the device for personal messaging and that his IM ID was still signed in. What Ms. Packratty then read was one side of a disgusting conversation between MM and SBM in which she could see only SBM's messages.
In this conversation, SBM complained about co-workers and then launched into a vile discussion of someone in another department, speculating on her availability in the crudest sexual terms. Ms. P turned the Blackberry over to her manager upon returning for lunch Tuesday and showed her the nasty IMs, but here it is noon on Wednesday and both of the miscreants are still at work. Note, I did NOT say working.
Considering that a white male co-worker was suspended for 3 days because he was suspected of surfing naughty sites (it turned out that he had remoted a tower at a detached location and forgotten to log off and someone at that location abused his login), the fact that these two lumps, who were a> using a company Blackberry for personal use (MM) and b> while at work, carrying on a vile discussion and denigrating women (SBM) are still sitting here is a bit upsetting. Frankly, I feel queasy sitting across from SBM after reading the way he refers to women (think as "pieces of meat") and revolted that an alleged minister would participate in a conversation like that.
I'm beginning to think I should have taken it directly to HR, but since I have been dinged for going over her head, I did not, nor did I stand my ground when I asked her to call HR before I showed her the IMs. I'm beginning to think that it's all going to disappear. Big surprise.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Sunday, October 25, 2009
I'm late, I'm late, I'm terribly late
Actually, Ms. Packratty is just behind. She has housekeeping to do, laundry, desperately needs a haircut, must get to the library, and Home Depot and yesterday's flurry of activity skipped the regular shopping errands, so that too, maybe.
What did Ms. Packratty do Saturday? She got up early for an appointment in connection with a way to earn some extra cash over the next 2-3 months - always a good thing. That took a couple of hours. Then she went to see Marleen with Charlie and while Charlie hung out, Ms. Packratty and Marleen went to look at some puppies fathered by Master Jack, then hit Joanne's and bought yarn (Ms. P) and sewing stuff (Mar) and then went to Sam's where Ms. P did manage to get her biweekly supply of San Pelligrino water and looked at slow cookers. The only crock pot at Sam's was immense, but there was also a combination rice cooker, steamer and slow cooker that looked interesting and was small enough to store and large enough to be useful - there's a very small overlap for those 2 factors, you know when you have a teeny tiny kitchen like Ms. P's.
It's some cruel fate that keeps handing Ms. P, who loves to cook, small kitchens and no space for things like a freezer. Ms. P truly misses the days in Greenwood and Toccoa when she had space to put up jam and preserves all summer long and have the space to store things, even though those kitchens lacked a gas stove and a microwave and dishwashers. In retrospect, it's probably a very good thing that Lucifer never appeared to offer Ms. P a dishwasher at the pinnacle of peach preserve making, when everything was covered with peach puree and jam drippings and .... She might have been tempted at that point.
But unless Ms. P does some exceptional income enhancement in the next couple of years, she will never be able to get out of this place. And while she deeply loves the location of the current Chez Packrat, she craves a workshop, a garage, a larger kitchen and just the tiniest bit of a yard for Charlie and enough to spare to have a wee garden.
Off to the races - time to start tackling that pile!
What did Ms. Packratty do Saturday? She got up early for an appointment in connection with a way to earn some extra cash over the next 2-3 months - always a good thing. That took a couple of hours. Then she went to see Marleen with Charlie and while Charlie hung out, Ms. Packratty and Marleen went to look at some puppies fathered by Master Jack, then hit Joanne's and bought yarn (Ms. P) and sewing stuff (Mar) and then went to Sam's where Ms. P did manage to get her biweekly supply of San Pelligrino water and looked at slow cookers. The only crock pot at Sam's was immense, but there was also a combination rice cooker, steamer and slow cooker that looked interesting and was small enough to store and large enough to be useful - there's a very small overlap for those 2 factors, you know when you have a teeny tiny kitchen like Ms. P's.
It's some cruel fate that keeps handing Ms. P, who loves to cook, small kitchens and no space for things like a freezer. Ms. P truly misses the days in Greenwood and Toccoa when she had space to put up jam and preserves all summer long and have the space to store things, even though those kitchens lacked a gas stove and a microwave and dishwashers. In retrospect, it's probably a very good thing that Lucifer never appeared to offer Ms. P a dishwasher at the pinnacle of peach preserve making, when everything was covered with peach puree and jam drippings and .... She might have been tempted at that point.
But unless Ms. P does some exceptional income enhancement in the next couple of years, she will never be able to get out of this place. And while she deeply loves the location of the current Chez Packrat, she craves a workshop, a garage, a larger kitchen and just the tiniest bit of a yard for Charlie and enough to spare to have a wee garden.
Off to the races - time to start tackling that pile!
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Have we lost our collective minds?
NEWARK, Del. – A Delaware first-grader who wanted to eat lunch at school with his favorite camping utensil, a combination of folding fork, knife and spoon, now faces 45 days in the district's alternative school for troublemakers.
What sort of completely cockeyed and neutered moron could mistake a camping utensil for a weapon? Ms. packratty has been informed that in the 1930s, young lads routinely brought their pocketknives to school so that they might play an old-fashioned game called Mumblety-peg. In Ms. Packratty's own youth, any young gentleman would have a penknife in his pocket - very handy for trimming paper, opening parcels and multitudinous other minor chores. No one ever imagined that such a thing would be called a weapon.
Of course, Ms. Packratty clearly remembers her beloved grandfather telling her that there is little common about common sense. However, sending a 6 year old child to reform school over a Cub Scout device strikes her as madness. Sheer and utter madness.
What sort of completely cockeyed and neutered moron could mistake a camping utensil for a weapon? Ms. packratty has been informed that in the 1930s, young lads routinely brought their pocketknives to school so that they might play an old-fashioned game called Mumblety-peg. In Ms. Packratty's own youth, any young gentleman would have a penknife in his pocket - very handy for trimming paper, opening parcels and multitudinous other minor chores. No one ever imagined that such a thing would be called a weapon.
Of course, Ms. Packratty clearly remembers her beloved grandfather telling her that there is little common about common sense. However, sending a 6 year old child to reform school over a Cub Scout device strikes her as madness. Sheer and utter madness.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Fade to Black
Once again, Georgia Power is providing their usual deplorable (lack of) service.
What, you say? Well, there is a reason that Ms. Packratty has the power outage reporting number on the speed dial of her phone.
Why is the power out? Well, it's raining. Big surprise. Most places that aren't located in deserts get rain every now and again, but here in Georgia, the power company seems to be unable to provide reliable service. The power goes out at Chez Packrat at least 2-3 times a month for varying periods and all too often, it goes out roughly once a week.
This morning, there was a SINGLE crackle of thunder and the power went out. It came back up and then 15 minutes later, we descended back into darkness. According to the morons at Georgia PPower, the service was supposed to be back on by 11:30 a.m., but now they have moved that estimate back to 4:30 p.m. God only knows when the power will actually come back on. If the power is out for 8 hours, that's roughly 5% of a week. I don't think there are many people who would consider it acceptable if their water went out for 8 hours a week.
Ms. Packratty is SOOOOO not happy about trying to shower and dress in dark - thank heavens the load of clothing she had in the drier from last night had dried. Even so, the load in the washer, which she had planned to dry first thing and which contained almost all of her standard wear black trousers, is still sitting undried and will probably turn sour enough to require a rewash. Which wastes water, wastes electricity, wastes gas (for a warm water wash), wastes detergent and hence sewer treatment capacity, wastes her time, adds additional wear and tear to the washer - all because Georgia Power IS NOT AS RELIABLE AS FLORIDA POWER & LIGHT WAS IN 1969. That's 40 years ago, folks. 40 years ago and Georgia Power can't meet the standards of another company from nearly half a century ago? Because Ms. Packratty checked with her mother, who told her that the only time she recalled the power going out in Tampa was when there was a HURRICANE.
If Ms. Packratty wanted to live in a Third World country with unreliable power, etc., she would go do so. In the United States, she expects her power to stay on unless there is remarkably severe weather or other natural disaster. A moderate rain with little or no lightning is NOT an acceptable reason for a power outage and there is NO acceptable reason for the power to go out weekly.
Color Ms. Packratty annoyed. Very Annoyed. Calling the Public Service Commission Annoyed.
What, you say? Well, there is a reason that Ms. Packratty has the power outage reporting number on the speed dial of her phone.
Why is the power out? Well, it's raining. Big surprise. Most places that aren't located in deserts get rain every now and again, but here in Georgia, the power company seems to be unable to provide reliable service. The power goes out at Chez Packrat at least 2-3 times a month for varying periods and all too often, it goes out roughly once a week.
This morning, there was a SINGLE crackle of thunder and the power went out. It came back up and then 15 minutes later, we descended back into darkness. According to the morons at Georgia PPower, the service was supposed to be back on by 11:30 a.m., but now they have moved that estimate back to 4:30 p.m. God only knows when the power will actually come back on. If the power is out for 8 hours, that's roughly 5% of a week. I don't think there are many people who would consider it acceptable if their water went out for 8 hours a week.
Ms. Packratty is SOOOOO not happy about trying to shower and dress in dark - thank heavens the load of clothing she had in the drier from last night had dried. Even so, the load in the washer, which she had planned to dry first thing and which contained almost all of her standard wear black trousers, is still sitting undried and will probably turn sour enough to require a rewash. Which wastes water, wastes electricity, wastes gas (for a warm water wash), wastes detergent and hence sewer treatment capacity, wastes her time, adds additional wear and tear to the washer - all because Georgia Power IS NOT AS RELIABLE AS FLORIDA POWER & LIGHT WAS IN 1969. That's 40 years ago, folks. 40 years ago and Georgia Power can't meet the standards of another company from nearly half a century ago? Because Ms. Packratty checked with her mother, who told her that the only time she recalled the power going out in Tampa was when there was a HURRICANE.
If Ms. Packratty wanted to live in a Third World country with unreliable power, etc., she would go do so. In the United States, she expects her power to stay on unless there is remarkably severe weather or other natural disaster. A moderate rain with little or no lightning is NOT an acceptable reason for a power outage and there is NO acceptable reason for the power to go out weekly.
Color Ms. Packratty annoyed. Very Annoyed. Calling the Public Service Commission Annoyed.
Monday, October 05, 2009
The da Vinci that isn't
Sunday, I went to the High Museum and was greeted by this.
This is the Sforza Horse, the monumental statue that Leonardo never completed.
In the late 1400s, da Vinci envisioned the world’s largest, most technically challenging statue, one that would depict Francesco Sforza, Duke of Milan, on horseback. For more than 15 years, he studied the anatomy of horses, sketched and drew the statute numerous times, developed detailed plans for the sculpture and techniques to cast the immense horse and rider in bronze. He created a huge clay model, but war with France intervened and bronze for the horse was requisitioned for cannons. Invading soldiers destroyed the great clay horse, the one da Vinci expected to be a defining work.
This horse is a 26-foot-high recreation of the Sforza horse, manufactured by the Opera Laboratori Fiorentini and loaned for the exhibit. In order to assemble it in the courtyard ouside the main entry, it was lifted - in pieces - over the building and reassembled.
This may be the largest ppiece of the exhibit - ironic, considering it was the work that Leonardo never finished - but it is hardly the most amazing.
The sketches and ink drawings by the dozens and the terra cotta pieces from Verrocchio's workshop and the baptistry panel with comparisons between the pieces and Leonardo's sketches and the scholarly conjecture about what parts Leonardo did as a student. Plus three immense bronze figures by his student, Giova
n Francesco Rustici:
Freestanding and somewhat cleaned up, these figures are vastly more imposing than in the picture above in their "native" setting. Awesome. Seeing examples of Leonardo's mirror writing was fascinating - equally to see how incredibly legible his handwriting remains. There were bits and pieces of notes written left to right where I could clearly read the Italian or Latin words.
I hope to go back again. I do find the herds of people with their audio tours standing about slackmouthed who appear to be listening more than *looking* to be annoying. I watched one man stand in front of a display case, blocking others from viewing, who was staring intent at the audio tour device for 9/10ths of the time that he was hogging access to the display. Read and look, people. Then stand back and play the little speech. Or vice versa.
My other gripe is that Americans clearly have no idea how to queue. They crowd in from left, right and center and don't follow any sort of traffic pattern. Of course, places like the High and the Aquarium could do things to encourage a traffic pattern and they don't. A few ropes and arrows would go a long way to make up for the fact that people are too stupid and rude to queue out of courtesy.
The rest of the weekend was trying to help out a little at the K9 Daze at Wills Park - I fear I was not much help - errands and a bit of reading, knitting and movie watching. It started raining right around 8 p.m. Sunday - not a pounding sort of rain, but hard enough to soak you in a minute or two and that rain was still streaming down at 2 a.m. and only tapered off to spots and spits around dawn. The front that brought it, though, was apparently moving much more quickly than our earlier deluge and while the creeks were higher than normal this morning, nothing seemed to be over its banks. We certainly don't need any more flooding while people clean up from last month's mess.
AND, a certain driveway got concrete Friday and Saturday so life for my dear friends should become much nicer today or tomorrow when they can finally drive on it!
Thursday, October 01, 2009
Friday, September 25, 2009
ICK!
So Ms. Packratty arrived at The Very Conservative Corporation Friday morning to discover that the city water main up the road had broken again and the entire building was without water.
And not only does the plumbing not work, but because TVCC has a cooling system from the 1950s that relies on the water system for chilling power, the air conditioning is only working at about 1/4 strength.
Now, to Ms. P, the humane thing would be to send everybody possible home - especially since the main building houses a couple of hundred people and there are no working toilets. But TVCC did not ask Ms. P. Their solution? Four portapotties on the back loading deck, shared by men and women.
Ms. Packratty held it. She was unhappily reminded of the post-to-post treks in the station wagons of her youth, but the ... er ... fortitude acquired then stood her in good stead.
And, of course, by 8 p.m. it was uncomfortably warm and this was annoying too, since Ms. Packratty feels that some church somewhere should canonize Willis Carrier.
She is increasingly less impressed with TVCC's cheeseparing, uncaring ways. Ironically, it came the day after the annual United Way extortion session. She would have a higher opinion of TVCC if they skipped their United Way match and the endless hullabaloo and had an insurance plan that wasn't embarassingly bad. TVCC's biggest step into the second half of the 20th century was to start allowing women to wear open-toed shoes in the summer. With hosiery only.
And not only does the plumbing not work, but because TVCC has a cooling system from the 1950s that relies on the water system for chilling power, the air conditioning is only working at about 1/4 strength.
Now, to Ms. P, the humane thing would be to send everybody possible home - especially since the main building houses a couple of hundred people and there are no working toilets. But TVCC did not ask Ms. P. Their solution? Four portapotties on the back loading deck, shared by men and women.
Ms. Packratty held it. She was unhappily reminded of the post-to-post treks in the station wagons of her youth, but the ... er ... fortitude acquired then stood her in good stead.
And, of course, by 8 p.m. it was uncomfortably warm and this was annoying too, since Ms. Packratty feels that some church somewhere should canonize Willis Carrier.
She is increasingly less impressed with TVCC's cheeseparing, uncaring ways. Ironically, it came the day after the annual United Way extortion session. She would have a higher opinion of TVCC if they skipped their United Way match and the endless hullabaloo and had an insurance plan that wasn't embarassingly bad. TVCC's biggest step into the second half of the 20th century was to start allowing women to wear open-toed shoes in the summer. With hosiery only.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Drying Out
The rain has stopped, and although the NWS warned us that we might have rain through this week, that has not come to pass. It's really terrible hearing about people who have lost loved ones or homes, but I suppose it is also a good warning that if you live ANYWHERE near a stream or at the bottom of a hill, you should have flood insurance. Of course, even The House At the Top of the Hill had water come in during the worst of it Monday, when the lower patio flooded into the kennel floor and the gutters on the east side of the house could not keep up with the sheer awful volume of rain. So really, anyone can get flood damage.
Fortunately, Chez Packratty mostly on the second, third floor and fourth floor of the building did not suffer any water problems except that pesky place in the upstairs bath where water comes in along the roof vent and drips near the exhaust fan. That happens about once a decade, so Ms. P really doesn't view it as an issue.
We are also waiting to hear about Miss Jill, who should be presenting Mar with a litter in the next few days - it will be nice to have little white polar bear pups around again.
Fortunately, Chez Packratty mostly on the second, third floor and fourth floor of the building did not suffer any water problems except that pesky place in the upstairs bath where water comes in along the roof vent and drips near the exhaust fan. That happens about once a decade, so Ms. P really doesn't view it as an issue.
We are also waiting to hear about Miss Jill, who should be presenting Mar with a litter in the next few days - it will be nice to have little white polar bear pups around again.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Over the banks
By the time Ms. P left work on Monday, Peachtree Creek was over the banks and flooding the parking lot.
There is normally about a 20 foot drop from the edge of the parking lot to the creek. NWS said the creek crested at about 1 foot below its all time record, which is more than a century old. Wow.
Fortunately, the spigot seems to be turned off or turned way down. There has been no more rain today.
However, all this rain has led to some interesting new fauna on the grounds of Chez Packratty. While walking Charlie around the condo complex this morning, we observed:
Ms. P rather suspects that the variety and quantity of fungi sprouting will increase over the next week or so unless the weather predictions of off and on rain are completely wrong.
Monday, September 21, 2009
I suppose this is global warming too?
It's been raining - ranging from light to torrential - for almost a week. The remains of the old Civil War embankments behind my condo are full up for the first time in years and Peachtree Creek near my office (which flooded one of our buildings in 2004) is well over its banks - ironically as a construction crew has been trying to stabilize the banks and prevent future flooding. Here's the parking lot after my miserable 1:15 hour drive in:
Two hours later:
The building that flooded in 2004 is the one behind those picnic tables. Cars are usually parked down there where the water is covering them.
And why is this happening? Here's a precipitation map for the last 36-48 hours:
Atlanta is solidly covered by the 6-8 inch area, while the 12-16 inch area is just to the southwest. This is some major rain. To put this in perspective - when Hurricane Opal dumped significant rain on the area in 1995 (Ms. Packratty was visiting England at the time), N Georgia and the metro area got between 5 and 8.66 inches of rain. We have gotten close to double that in the last week in many areas. Ms. P suspects that many drought-weakened trees will come crashing down if there is the least little bit of rain in the next few weeks, because the ground is beyond sodden.
Two hours later:
The building that flooded in 2004 is the one behind those picnic tables. Cars are usually parked down there where the water is covering them.
And why is this happening? Here's a precipitation map for the last 36-48 hours:
Atlanta is solidly covered by the 6-8 inch area, while the 12-16 inch area is just to the southwest. This is some major rain. To put this in perspective - when Hurricane Opal dumped significant rain on the area in 1995 (Ms. Packratty was visiting England at the time), N Georgia and the metro area got between 5 and 8.66 inches of rain. We have gotten close to double that in the last week in many areas. Ms. P suspects that many drought-weakened trees will come crashing down if there is the least little bit of rain in the next few weeks, because the ground is beyond sodden.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
I'm pretty sure the drought is over
ATLANTA (AP) - A record rainfall has showered parts of the Atlanta metro area with more than five inches of water.
A new measuring station in East Point recorded 5.04 inches between midnight and 1 p.m. Saturday.
The National Weather Service said between daybreak and 1 p.m. nearly three and a half inches had fallen at Atlanta's airport. Meteorologist Kent McMullen said that crushes the previous record of 1.62 inches, set in 1953.
I kid you not, I think we had at least 3 inches here in Sandy Springs, based on how many times I emptied the plant saucers. And three times during the night, I woke up to really loud thunder within a 2 miles range. None of it right overhead, but there was enough rain to produce an audible drumming on the roof. All is soaked.
Ms. Packratty is on call this weekend and can't stray too far from home and it is gloomy and humid and icky, so she is sorting through books and some knitting and bookbinding supplies and working on peeling away the rest of the blue tape. If the sun would come out just a little, she would go try to find the new dog park AND hang the new blind in the lower hall window, but it is too darned damp to paint, even with the a/c on as she is reluctant to put up the new blind until she has painted the window woodwork. Silly, considering it takes 30 seconds to remove the blind once it is properly installed ...
Friday, September 18, 2009
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Tired, tired, tired
Ugly weather moved in Tuesday night and brought a migraine and a two-day allergy attack. Ms. P is not a happy camper and cannot wait to get home tonight. Mar is marooned at the top of the House on the River of Mud - what a nightmare. Of course, the workers would still have encountered the Immense Boulder if they had started when promised, but then they would have had time to deal with it before the rains set in.
I like the rain, but since it was overcast most of last week and only finally commenced raining, it is starting to feel as though this has gone on forever. Time to go pick up my camera and go home to Charlie Rufus.
I like the rain, but since it was overcast most of last week and only finally commenced raining, it is starting to feel as though this has gone on forever. Time to go pick up my camera and go home to Charlie Rufus.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
There's no place like home
As comfy as the guest accommodations at The House on the Hill were, it was nice to be home. The house was still stinky from paint, so I opened it up and turned off the air. Even if it is clammy tonight, it will be nice to have it thoroughly aired.
I left Charlie behind for one more night - there was a lot to carry and I was really, really tired. poor little guy - I bet he'll be glad to be home. And I'll bet Miss Snootypuss will be outraged that not only have I returned, but that I've brought that DOG back. Miss Packratty believes that Delilah thinks the house is hers and that Charlie and I are interlopers.
The next step is to finish the bottom 3 stairs and then clear the landings and foyer. Then we start painting stringers and risers and get back on that ladder and finish up the areas on the banisters that only got one coat. And hang the last 2 new blinds. And the new curtains. And get someone to haul the old green sofa out - not replacing it while Delilah can shred fabric. Lots of projects and lots of time. Just got to do it one bite at a time - we won't even start thinking about the remaining ugly wallpaper in the bathrooms and kitchen.
I left Charlie behind for one more night - there was a lot to carry and I was really, really tired. poor little guy - I bet he'll be glad to be home. And I'll bet Miss Snootypuss will be outraged that not only have I returned, but that I've brought that DOG back. Miss Packratty believes that Delilah thinks the house is hers and that Charlie and I are interlopers.
The next step is to finish the bottom 3 stairs and then clear the landings and foyer. Then we start painting stringers and risers and get back on that ladder and finish up the areas on the banisters that only got one coat. And hang the last 2 new blinds. And the new curtains. And get someone to haul the old green sofa out - not replacing it while Delilah can shred fabric. Lots of projects and lots of time. Just got to do it one bite at a time - we won't even start thinking about the remaining ugly wallpaper in the bathrooms and kitchen.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Monday, Monday
So after making a list of things that she needed to do to wind up her "artist in residence" at Maison au Sommet de la Colline (The House at the Top of the Hill), Ms. Packratty went to bed Sunday night. First light found her up and about, taking care of dogs and trying to leave the place reasonably neat and clean.
So, of course, right at about 8:15 a.m., the doorbell rang and sure enough, it was the driveway crew, finally arrived to begin their mayhem - just as Mar and Joe were leaving Boston to return home. So Ms. P drove down the hill and trudged back up (amazing how fast that driveway conditions the legs). She looked about to see if she could spot Mar's k
eys, but couldn't find them OR her phone (sitting in the car's console at the bottom of the hill) to call and ask where they were.
So Mar and Joe will have a wonderful treat awaiting them - her car stranded at the top of the hill and Joe's at the bottom.
Off to the right and out of frame is a dump truck, which was already half full of concrete chunks. The fellow running the little backhoe thing on the upper left was a real artist - he said he wasn't going to need to move any of Mar's plants and I honestly think he might have been telling the truth. The part of the driveway shown here is actually the part with the gentle slope.
This is a view from the top that shows where the steep part suddenly drops off. That's the hump part that is supposed to be regraded to something less taxing.
I doubt, however, that Mar and Joe are going to enjoy getting 4 suitcases and Jack up to the top with the driveway down to dirt and gravel. I'll get a look tonight, because I need to go back and fetch the rest of my stuff and Charlie. Poor Charlie - he is going to hate going home to being an only dog again.
It's going to be nice to be back in my own bed again though - although I wish I could kidnap Miss Joy to be my foot of the bed dog. Charlie is way too wiggly.
So, of course, right at about 8:15 a.m., the doorbell rang and sure enough, it was the driveway crew, finally arrived to begin their mayhem - just as Mar and Joe were leaving Boston to return home. So Ms. P drove down the hill and trudged back up (amazing how fast that driveway conditions the legs). She looked about to see if she could spot Mar's k
eys, but couldn't find them OR her phone (sitting in the car's console at the bottom of the hill) to call and ask where they were.So Mar and Joe will have a wonderful treat awaiting them - her car stranded at the top of the hill and Joe's at the bottom.
Off to the right and out of frame is a dump truck, which was already half full of concrete chunks. The fellow running the little backhoe thing on the upper left was a real artist - he said he wasn't going to need to move any of Mar's plants and I honestly think he might have been telling the truth. The part of the driveway shown here is actually the part with the gentle slope.
This is a view from the top that shows where the steep part suddenly drops off. That's the hump part that is supposed to be regraded to something less taxing.
I doubt, however, that Mar and Joe are going to enjoy getting 4 suitcases and Jack up to the top with the driveway down to dirt and gravel. I'll get a look tonight, because I need to go back and fetch the rest of my stuff and Charlie. Poor Charlie - he is going to hate going home to being an only dog again.
It's going to be nice to be back in my own bed again though - although I wish I could kidnap Miss Joy to be my foot of the bed dog. Charlie is way too wiggly.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Finito - well almost
There are still 3 stairs to be done, but that's for another weekend. The other stairs? All three flights? Polyurethaned x 3 and they look gorgeous, I can really spot the two areas of the woodwork that only have their first coat of poly - somehow after that day I fell off the ladder, I never managed to get back up there to finish the job. That was scary.
I got some movement on once again editing out the stacks of books - I have a big box in my car and most of the keepers have been conveyed to the proper place. I do have a book problem. I read a lot and even if I only buy one book out of every 20 I read, that's a lot in the course of a year. I've been relying on the library and the online hold system - but there are always problems with books they don't have that I really, really want to read. I used to budget for bookstore spending. Now I don't.
I am so grateful that Marleen and Joe let me caretake this week which gave me the chance to tackle a REALLY BIG project and complete it. It's difficult to keep momentum going when you don't have real time to devote to something. Having this opportunity come when I had leave I could use and when I was relatively painfree was just a perfect intersection - without all three things coming together, it wouldn;t have been possible - and, in fact, when I hurt my hands last weekend, I was afraid I was going to stall out. I know I can do the risers and stringers in little bits that won't kill me and in latex paint which is easier to deal with all the way around. I'll be pumping up 3M's revenues some more though buying more blue tape.
Charlie has really had a great week too - he loves being here with Marleen's crew even though the girls pick on him. I'll feel guilty taking him home tomorrow night.
A testament to the role of sound sleep in resolving pain - I was sore as a boil last night and decided that if ever there was a night for a sleeping pill, it was then. I slept almost 6 hours straight and then 2 hours after an initial waking and when i got uup I was stiff, but not sore. Amazing.
Big day tomorrow. Got to buff this place up before I leave and then my first full day of work in 11 days.
I got some movement on once again editing out the stacks of books - I have a big box in my car and most of the keepers have been conveyed to the proper place. I do have a book problem. I read a lot and even if I only buy one book out of every 20 I read, that's a lot in the course of a year. I've been relying on the library and the online hold system - but there are always problems with books they don't have that I really, really want to read. I used to budget for bookstore spending. Now I don't.
I am so grateful that Marleen and Joe let me caretake this week which gave me the chance to tackle a REALLY BIG project and complete it. It's difficult to keep momentum going when you don't have real time to devote to something. Having this opportunity come when I had leave I could use and when I was relatively painfree was just a perfect intersection - without all three things coming together, it wouldn;t have been possible - and, in fact, when I hurt my hands last weekend, I was afraid I was going to stall out. I know I can do the risers and stringers in little bits that won't kill me and in latex paint which is easier to deal with all the way around. I'll be pumping up 3M's revenues some more though buying more blue tape.
Charlie has really had a great week too - he loves being here with Marleen's crew even though the girls pick on him. I'll feel guilty taking him home tomorrow night.
A testament to the role of sound sleep in resolving pain - I was sore as a boil last night and decided that if ever there was a night for a sleeping pill, it was then. I slept almost 6 hours straight and then 2 hours after an initial waking and when i got uup I was stiff, but not sore. Amazing.
Big day tomorrow. Got to buff this place up before I leave and then my first full day of work in 11 days.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Things I am thankful for
Kneepads. My brother-in-law Chris told me what kind to buy and I am deeply thankful. I think the stair project would have been a non-starter without them.
Blue tape. The stuff is amazing and worth every penny.
Polyurethane instead of varnish. Hardens so much faster and it's so much easier to get a good finish.
Good paintbrushes. Many thanks to my grandfather, Ralph M. Willard, for teaching me that painting with cheap brushes is a waste of time. Also for teaching me that prep time and effort is never wasted.
My little Mouse sander. Does a great job, doesn't hurt my hands or behave badly. Maybe not the tool for huge jobs, but definitely the ticket for almost everything I have tackled to date.
Aleve and hot showers. Just saying, you know?
Blue tape. The stuff is amazing and worth every penny.
Polyurethane instead of varnish. Hardens so much faster and it's so much easier to get a good finish.
Good paintbrushes. Many thanks to my grandfather, Ralph M. Willard, for teaching me that painting with cheap brushes is a waste of time. Also for teaching me that prep time and effort is never wasted.
My little Mouse sander. Does a great job, doesn't hurt my hands or behave badly. Maybe not the tool for huge jobs, but definitely the ticket for almost everything I have tackled to date.
Aleve and hot showers. Just saying, you know?
Holy Carp, I'm sore
The second coat of varnish went on flight 2 Friday and flight 3 was prepped for taping. That and a third cost for flight 2 and the taping and first coats for flight 3 are the plan for Saturday. If Ms. P gets the first coat on flight 3 before 1 p.m., she plans to go back 8 hours later and do the second coat - with the third coat on Sunday, following the detaping of the other flights. Note, this plan leave fudge factor on Sunday if things do not go as planned.
The three steps at the entry? Next weekend, doing alternate stairs so that entry and exit remain possible.
And then Ms. P plans no further projects for at least a month. Please. She hurts in places she did not know she had places. There is still the matter of unrolling, mothproofing and rerolling the oriental carpets which Joe says they can store for me until the floors are done. But that's an afternoon's labor each, not the death march of this past week.
It's been an utter and complete blessing to stay at Marleen & Joe's - not only as a respite from CONSTRUCTION ZONE, but also because knowing that I need to go tend dogs has kept me from staying on too long and doing too much. About the time that I've really had it, the watch tells me it's time to go exercise dogs or such.
Time for a cuppa tea and an Aleve.
The three steps at the entry? Next weekend, doing alternate stairs so that entry and exit remain possible.
And then Ms. P plans no further projects for at least a month. Please. She hurts in places she did not know she had places. There is still the matter of unrolling, mothproofing and rerolling the oriental carpets which Joe says they can store for me until the floors are done. But that's an afternoon's labor each, not the death march of this past week.
It's been an utter and complete blessing to stay at Marleen & Joe's - not only as a respite from CONSTRUCTION ZONE, but also because knowing that I need to go tend dogs has kept me from staying on too long and doing too much. About the time that I've really had it, the watch tells me it's time to go exercise dogs or such.
Time for a cuppa tea and an Aleve.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Stranger and stranger
Well, when I got back from work, the first set of surveyors stakes were all gone and a different set in their place (in entirely different places). And a bunch of plate sized holes have punched in the concrete of the driveway. But nothing else.
Ms. P nonetheless left her chariot at the foot of the hill - it was a little late to be pulling into the neighbor's driveway, waking their 2 large dogs and clambering up through the ivy. Instead she parks across the street and did the buns and thigh workout by walking up the driveway.
At this rate, the driveway might be done by Christmas.
Now, Ms. P on the other hand? Third coat on the very top flight; first coat on the next flight down. Tomorrow morning the plan is to remove the tape from stage 1, put a second coat on stage 2 and start the prep on stage 3 - which is also the longest of all the flights. I need to move the bundle of quarter round and pull the covers and staples etc. But if I can get that part done Friday a.m. and tape it and first coat it Saturday before noon, I can get 2 coats on Sunday - early am and late pm and by Monday night? walkable. Meanwhile, stage 2 will get a third coat Saturday. Ms. P will not get home until 8:30 or later Friday, so she doubts she will have time or energy to start taping Friday night - but all things are possible.
Got to get more varnish and more blue tape. But I'm really seeing that this can get finished before I go to bed Sunday night. The last flight of 4 steps? That's going to be harder because I'll probably have to do them while using them. But I had to do this top down or I wouldn't have been able to work on more than one section at a time, so ... However, this entire exercise does not fill Ms. Packratty's heart with joy thinking about the painting of the risers and the stringers. That will have to happen slowly and, Ms. P suspects will be just as painful as the varnishing, although it won't involve all the vacating of the premises. The taping will be much more critical, however.
Enough woodworking though - the big news at work, other than the VP shuffle, is that The Conservative Corporation that Ms. Packratty labors for has actually decided to allow women to wear open toed shoes - although not sandals of any sort. Ms. P doubts this will truly affect her much, as the shoes available for her large boats that are also not painful to wear are generally lacking in anything that might be termed "style". However, the dress code amendments came with some vigorous restating of other standards, including the requirement that skanky tattoos must be concealed, that earrings may not dangle to the shoulders and that clothing may not be skintight or see-through, all offenses by some of her co-workers that have made her shudder (and feel cranky about) in recent months. If Ms. P has to obey the rules, she expects everyone else to have to obey the same damn rules.
Ms. P nonetheless left her chariot at the foot of the hill - it was a little late to be pulling into the neighbor's driveway, waking their 2 large dogs and clambering up through the ivy. Instead she parks across the street and did the buns and thigh workout by walking up the driveway.
At this rate, the driveway might be done by Christmas.
Now, Ms. P on the other hand? Third coat on the very top flight; first coat on the next flight down. Tomorrow morning the plan is to remove the tape from stage 1, put a second coat on stage 2 and start the prep on stage 3 - which is also the longest of all the flights. I need to move the bundle of quarter round and pull the covers and staples etc. But if I can get that part done Friday a.m. and tape it and first coat it Saturday before noon, I can get 2 coats on Sunday - early am and late pm and by Monday night? walkable. Meanwhile, stage 2 will get a third coat Saturday. Ms. P will not get home until 8:30 or later Friday, so she doubts she will have time or energy to start taping Friday night - but all things are possible.
Got to get more varnish and more blue tape. But I'm really seeing that this can get finished before I go to bed Sunday night. The last flight of 4 steps? That's going to be harder because I'll probably have to do them while using them. But I had to do this top down or I wouldn't have been able to work on more than one section at a time, so ... However, this entire exercise does not fill Ms. Packratty's heart with joy thinking about the painting of the risers and the stringers. That will have to happen slowly and, Ms. P suspects will be just as painful as the varnishing, although it won't involve all the vacating of the premises. The taping will be much more critical, however.
Enough woodworking though - the big news at work, other than the VP shuffle, is that The Conservative Corporation that Ms. Packratty labors for has actually decided to allow women to wear open toed shoes - although not sandals of any sort. Ms. P doubts this will truly affect her much, as the shoes available for her large boats that are also not painful to wear are generally lacking in anything that might be termed "style". However, the dress code amendments came with some vigorous restating of other standards, including the requirement that skanky tattoos must be concealed, that earrings may not dangle to the shoulders and that clothing may not be skintight or see-through, all offenses by some of her co-workers that have made her shudder (and feel cranky about) in recent months. If Ms. P has to obey the rules, she expects everyone else to have to obey the same damn rules.
Progress Report
Well, the driveway at Joe and Marleen's had stayed completely untouched. Then a surveyor came. Then nothing. I was no longer getting up early and shifting the car down the hill. So of course, this is the day the heavy machinery started to arrive. But once again, that might have been a false start, because when i came back from taping stairs and going to the dentist (where a tooth cleaning uncovered yet another damaged filling that wants replacing), the heavy equipment was gone and the surveyors were back.
Joy.
Getting some real traction on the stair project, the second flight is taped and I'll third coat the first flight and first coat the second one tonight and move on to prepping the third flight tomorrow morning when I have an even longer morning - I don't go to work until 4 p.m. I think I may be done with everything but the first mini-flight (4 steps) by the time Mar and Joe return.
Please, I hope, hope, hope. I need to reroll and mothball the rugs and keep moving steadily toward getting the floors laid. We're getting there. It's slow, but Ms. P really feels, for the first time, that she has really finally got some traction on getting this project done.
Joy.
Getting some real traction on the stair project, the second flight is taped and I'll third coat the first flight and first coat the second one tonight and move on to prepping the third flight tomorrow morning when I have an even longer morning - I don't go to work until 4 p.m. I think I may be done with everything but the first mini-flight (4 steps) by the time Mar and Joe return.
Please, I hope, hope, hope. I need to reroll and mothball the rugs and keep moving steadily toward getting the floors laid. We're getting there. It's slow, but Ms. P really feels, for the first time, that she has really finally got some traction on getting this project done.
Wednesday, September 09, 2009
House Pixie
The House Pixie put the crowbar back into the toolbucket. The toolbucket that Ms. Packratty moved twice while searching for the crowbar.
My House Pixie has an odd sense of humor. Ms. P wishes he or she would return my missing earring.
My House Pixie has an odd sense of humor. Ms. P wishes he or she would return my missing earring.
How do you misplace a crowbar?
I had it the other day. I used it to pry up tread covers. I had it in my hand Saturday and this morning? So missing.
I don't mind having multiple pliers. Or even having 2 hammers (they are different weights). Extra screwdrivers are a good thing. But I refuse to buy a second crowbar.
Holy carp, losing a CROWBAR? in a 1200 sf condo? I know I either leaned it against something or put it down someplace where it couldn't fall over and go bang and now it's just missing (and I may have just remembered where - since I brought in a box from Mark & Liana's house Saturday night ....)
In other notes, prep on the second flight? Every single staple came out - only two broke and had to be yanked with vise grips. No countersinking. Karmic payback for Saturday? Or will section 3 break my heart as I get overconfident? Perhaps it's the blood sacrifice. I knocked my head on one of the newel posts and have a 1/4 inch cut on my forehead. Section 2 is ready for taping - section one was sanded, wiped and got the second coat of varnish. Taping on section 2 begins this evening.
I don't mind having multiple pliers. Or even having 2 hammers (they are different weights). Extra screwdrivers are a good thing. But I refuse to buy a second crowbar.
Holy carp, losing a CROWBAR? in a 1200 sf condo? I know I either leaned it against something or put it down someplace where it couldn't fall over and go bang and now it's just missing (and I may have just remembered where - since I brought in a box from Mark & Liana's house Saturday night ....)
In other notes, prep on the second flight? Every single staple came out - only two broke and had to be yanked with vise grips. No countersinking. Karmic payback for Saturday? Or will section 3 break my heart as I get overconfident? Perhaps it's the blood sacrifice. I knocked my head on one of the newel posts and have a 1/4 inch cut on my forehead. Section 2 is ready for taping - section one was sanded, wiped and got the second coat of varnish. Taping on section 2 begins this evening.
Tuesday, September 08, 2009
Painful Progress
I have some degree of victory. The second shortest flight of the four has been prepped, taped and gotten coat one of varnish. It's been quite a learning process that I am sure is not over and my blistered, cut and abused fingers bear testimony.
I learned that if staples won't pull out, yanking on them until your fingers are blistered is not smart. Also, take off your jewelry, as that only makes blisters worse.
There are pliers that can cut off the sharp bits very close to the woood, however, finding the sharp bits by running your hand over the tread is a good way to get cut.
Once the staples have been trimmed down as far as you can, a countersink is your best friend. So is wood filler that is color coordinated to the type of wood.
Blue tape is good stuff. So are kneepads. So are tack cloths.
Ms. Packratty is estimating that she can get about half the prep work done on the next section of stairs tomorrow after her early appointment and before reporting for work at 3 p.m. That would be removing the tread covers, pulling all the staples possible, countersinking the ones she can't pull and putting woood putty in the resulting holes. She also hopes to do the light sand, tack cloth wipe and a second coat of varnish on section one before she goes to work
The worst part of the prep, the taping, she hopes to start tomorrow evening, after work and after exercising dogs. If Ms. P can spend so much as 45 minutes at it, she will be in far better trim on Friday morning, when her worktime is neatly bisected by a dental appointment.
Friday morning would be her chance to repeat the revarnish for coat 3 on the first section. If section two is taped and wiped down, a first coat could go on that Friday afternoon and a second on Saturday morning and the third Saturday evening.
Section 3, the longest run of stairs, would be the Saturday and Sunday project In between the varnishing on section 2. The plan would be to pull the covers and prep and start taping, with the hopes of getting 2 coats on the stairs Sunday. Since Ms. P won't be back home until Monday evening, two coats should be sufficient to make it through the week with a third coat applied on Saturday and the final 4 step section for later. If need be, the bottom section could be done in alternate steps so it could be used even though it was being worked on. Ms. P simply hopes she does not wake up tomorrow feeling as though she has been thrashed and pummelled.
Now, the pictures:
Before - tread covers off, no other work:
Taped and prepped:
And finally - first coat on - isn't that oak PRETTY?
Monday, September 07, 2009
A few complications
The Stair Project has hit some complications. First, the staples that had secured the temporary tread covers were coming out in pieces, leaving other sharp little pieces sticking up. Wrestling with them cost me several hours of sweating, a blister on my right index finger and about $22 in new pliers, to little avail.
I also managed to slice my left index finger in the same spot as the blister on my right - right on the pad of the middle section of the finger. Right where almost everything you do hurts. Thank you, Mr. Murphy.
So back to Home Depot on the advice of a friend to get a countersink. So I will shortly go back to the house and simply countersink the sharp little buggers and wood putty the holes. But not until after I get Norman washed. It is not easy looking after a herd of terriers and those puppies poop like geese.
And, of course, the people who swore to Joe that they were starting work on the driveway this morning? So not here.
I also managed to slice my left index finger in the same spot as the blister on my right - right on the pad of the middle section of the finger. Right where almost everything you do hurts. Thank you, Mr. Murphy.
So back to Home Depot on the advice of a friend to get a countersink. So I will shortly go back to the house and simply countersink the sharp little buggers and wood putty the holes. But not until after I get Norman washed. It is not easy looking after a herd of terriers and those puppies poop like geese.
And, of course, the people who swore to Joe that they were starting work on the driveway this morning? So not here.
Saturday, September 05, 2009
Ouch
I have blisters. Getting the staples that secured the covers to the treads out has been miserable. I cannot find the tool I used to do the job before nor my vise grip pliers. A stop at Home Depot is indicated if I am to get the sharp little spikes out.
However, I have some of the job done and an idea of what I am facing. I may not get the entire thing done this week. I am NOT going to try to paint the risers - only to do the varnishing. The risers can be done one or two at a time.
And I didn't get to devote a great deal of time to the house today. There were two dogs dropped off this morning, so I waited around for that to happen. And I am due for dinner with Mark & Liana shortly, so I am flying out of here, wine bottles clanking in a cooler!
However, I have some of the job done and an idea of what I am facing. I may not get the entire thing done this week. I am NOT going to try to paint the risers - only to do the varnishing. The risers can be done one or two at a time.
And I didn't get to devote a great deal of time to the house today. There were two dogs dropped off this morning, so I waited around for that to happen. And I am due for dinner with Mark & Liana shortly, so I am flying out of here, wine bottles clanking in a cooler!
Friday, September 04, 2009
Hoarding lightbulbs
Ms. Packratty has a serious issue with the push to force people to use compact fluorescent bulbs. There's a light quality - to her they are sort of the processed cheese food of light bulbs - but they also contain mercury. And people are not going to recycle them, they are going to throw them in the trash.
So anyway, she's been stuffing light bulbs by the box into the tall space at the top of the linen closet and today, when she was picking up some wood putty and sandpaper for the coming stair finishing festivities, her local Home Depot had a special. Boxes of 4 60 watt bulbs for 25 cents a BOX. Ms. Packratty bought $5 worth - 80 bulbs. They are some weird offbrand, but Ms. P suspects she will nonetheless get more than 6.25 cents worth of use out of each of them.
And speaking of energy, Ms. Packratty had commented on a friend's Facebook that she was desirous of purchasing a bottom freezer fridge unit as she is tall and tired of bending over to see the contents of the fridge and having to kneel on the floor when the fridge needs a thorough cleaning. Another friend of her friend posted a reply pompously informing her that a bottom freezer was less efficient than a top freezer and that Consumer Reports blah blah blah. So when Ms. Packratty was in the Home Depot, she compared the energy estimates on a GE bottom freezer fridge of 22 CF and one for a top freezer of 21.8 (close enough, in other words). The big energy savings that Ms. Packratty should sacrifice her back and knees for? FIVE dollars a YEAR. Five hundred pennies 41.6 CENTS a month. Yes, indeedy. That's advice from Consumer Reports on the par with their ridiculous advice on dog and cat food, in which they posited that corn and starch-laden cheap foods were a better value than meat protein based foods. Which is when CR basically lost most of their credibility with Ms. Packratty.
Speaking of consumer issues - have you ever felt like screaming at the television over an advertisement? This morning, Ms. Packratty was running around preparing for work when an ad appeared on the television. In the ad, this purported mother was talking about how her child - who appeared to be four or five years old - would not eat - "anything green" or this or that, "until it finally began to affect her growth" when "mom" consulted the doctor, who "told" her to feed the kid a canned vitamin-enhanced milkshake called Pediasure. Excuse me? What is happening to parents? Do they not have the sense to deal with their own children? Letting a child pull something like that over eating to the extent they were worried about their health is insane. Absolutely, totally insane. And any doctor who would prescribe fortified milkshakes as an alternative to real food for an otherwise healthy child ought to be defrocked.
Someone Ms. Packratty knows was confronted with a grandchild who was using eating as a way to control his parents. The Wise Grandmother invited the parents to leave the grandchild with her at the beach and for the parents to go off and have a vacation of their own. The first time grandson declined what was offered at a meal as well as the proffered leftovers from a prior meal and demanded something not on the menu, the Wise Grandmother looked calmly at the Picky Grandson and said "You must be ill, if you can't eat this nice whatever. Let's get you into bed for the afternoon." So while other children were with their Wise Grandfather at the beach and tennis court, the Picky Grandson spent the afternoon in bed. At dinner, the PG again declined the offered dinner or a chicken sandwich and demanded a hamburger and french fries. The Wise Grandmother again looked at him and said "That isn't what we have tonight. If you can't eat the ham or a chicken sandwich, you must still be feeling ill. Off to bed with you." And the PG spent the evening in bed while the other grandchildren had ice cream, played Monopoly and went to the movies at the Beach Club.
The next morning, the PG threw a temper tantrum at breakfast, refusing scrambled eggs, oatmeal or Cherrios and demanding some chocolate flavored cereal. The WG put him right back in bed and so it went for another entire day. On the evening of the second day, the PG actually ate some of his boiled shrimp, but refused salad, rice and the other parts of the dinner, so he got no dessert and had to go to bed early. But lo and behold, on the next morning, the PG came out of the young boys' bunkroom at the beach house early and found his Grandfather making some oatmeal and marched up and said "Grandpa, may I please have some oatmeal with brown sugar?" And that was that. Ever after, all his mother or father had to do if he started playing food games was to put him to bed because a boy who won't eat "must be feeling ill". You can't cater to those sorts of games with children. Pediasure - for a perfectly healthy child? The problem there isn't the child's nutrition, but a lack of calcium in the parental spines.
And now, if you will excuse her, Ms. Packratty really is going to the dogs. She needs to head out of here and go tend the pooches and collect her overnight bag.
So anyway, she's been stuffing light bulbs by the box into the tall space at the top of the linen closet and today, when she was picking up some wood putty and sandpaper for the coming stair finishing festivities, her local Home Depot had a special. Boxes of 4 60 watt bulbs for 25 cents a BOX. Ms. Packratty bought $5 worth - 80 bulbs. They are some weird offbrand, but Ms. P suspects she will nonetheless get more than 6.25 cents worth of use out of each of them.
And speaking of energy, Ms. Packratty had commented on a friend's Facebook that she was desirous of purchasing a bottom freezer fridge unit as she is tall and tired of bending over to see the contents of the fridge and having to kneel on the floor when the fridge needs a thorough cleaning. Another friend of her friend posted a reply pompously informing her that a bottom freezer was less efficient than a top freezer and that Consumer Reports blah blah blah. So when Ms. Packratty was in the Home Depot, she compared the energy estimates on a GE bottom freezer fridge of 22 CF and one for a top freezer of 21.8 (close enough, in other words). The big energy savings that Ms. Packratty should sacrifice her back and knees for? FIVE dollars a YEAR. Five hundred pennies 41.6 CENTS a month. Yes, indeedy. That's advice from Consumer Reports on the par with their ridiculous advice on dog and cat food, in which they posited that corn and starch-laden cheap foods were a better value than meat protein based foods. Which is when CR basically lost most of their credibility with Ms. Packratty.
Speaking of consumer issues - have you ever felt like screaming at the television over an advertisement? This morning, Ms. Packratty was running around preparing for work when an ad appeared on the television. In the ad, this purported mother was talking about how her child - who appeared to be four or five years old - would not eat - "anything green" or this or that, "until it finally began to affect her growth" when "mom" consulted the doctor, who "told" her to feed the kid a canned vitamin-enhanced milkshake called Pediasure. Excuse me? What is happening to parents? Do they not have the sense to deal with their own children? Letting a child pull something like that over eating to the extent they were worried about their health is insane. Absolutely, totally insane. And any doctor who would prescribe fortified milkshakes as an alternative to real food for an otherwise healthy child ought to be defrocked.
Someone Ms. Packratty knows was confronted with a grandchild who was using eating as a way to control his parents. The Wise Grandmother invited the parents to leave the grandchild with her at the beach and for the parents to go off and have a vacation of their own. The first time grandson declined what was offered at a meal as well as the proffered leftovers from a prior meal and demanded something not on the menu, the Wise Grandmother looked calmly at the Picky Grandson and said "You must be ill, if you can't eat this nice whatever. Let's get you into bed for the afternoon." So while other children were with their Wise Grandfather at the beach and tennis court, the Picky Grandson spent the afternoon in bed. At dinner, the PG again declined the offered dinner or a chicken sandwich and demanded a hamburger and french fries. The Wise Grandmother again looked at him and said "That isn't what we have tonight. If you can't eat the ham or a chicken sandwich, you must still be feeling ill. Off to bed with you." And the PG spent the evening in bed while the other grandchildren had ice cream, played Monopoly and went to the movies at the Beach Club.
The next morning, the PG threw a temper tantrum at breakfast, refusing scrambled eggs, oatmeal or Cherrios and demanding some chocolate flavored cereal. The WG put him right back in bed and so it went for another entire day. On the evening of the second day, the PG actually ate some of his boiled shrimp, but refused salad, rice and the other parts of the dinner, so he got no dessert and had to go to bed early. But lo and behold, on the next morning, the PG came out of the young boys' bunkroom at the beach house early and found his Grandfather making some oatmeal and marched up and said "Grandpa, may I please have some oatmeal with brown sugar?" And that was that. Ever after, all his mother or father had to do if he started playing food games was to put him to bed because a boy who won't eat "must be feeling ill". You can't cater to those sorts of games with children. Pediasure - for a perfectly healthy child? The problem there isn't the child's nutrition, but a lack of calcium in the parental spines.
And now, if you will excuse her, Ms. Packratty really is going to the dogs. She needs to head out of here and go tend the pooches and collect her overnight bag.
Tuesday, September 01, 2009
So much for cash for clunkers
Observed this Sunday at a local parking lot. Seriously, folks, if the cops pull people over for a burned out brake light, exactly how does this thing make it even a mile down the road?
This is sheer insanity that something like this is allowed to move on the public streets. But there it is.
As I was walking into the store this was parked in front off, I saw a man coming out with a very odd expression on his face. I turned and watched, and it was the owner of this hunk of junk. He struck me as having ... problems deeper than the condition of his ride.
The monthly death march of month end close has started and, off course, GA 400 did me in this morning. I left the house with a 15 minute margin of error and ended up late - not only did I use up the margin, but another 18 minutes besides. One disabled car and a 4 car fender-bender caused the road to back up for close to 20 miles and 40 minutes. Go figure. Imagine if it had happened during real rush hour instead of between 9 and 10 a.m.?I'm also very pleased - I used a Tuesday Morning gift certificate that was about to expire to snag an Outward Hound dog booster seat for the PU's pup who likes to see out and tries to ride in laps. Now I just have to get it all mailed. I have about a crate of stuff to send down there.
I am still trying to make sense of the new camera, but perhaps I'll have a chance to study it in the evenings at Marleen's next week. Turns out there will be three pups in residence rather than two, but my feeling is - what's 50% more poop? You''re cleaning up after two, might as well clean up after three. And there's the fun factor - watching three puppies is about 500% more amusing than two. Pictures, I hope, to follow. Along with pictures of the work on the house. I hope.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Charlie Rufus, Terrier Extraordinaire
I'm very proud of my Charlie this week for a couple of reasons.
Saturday morning, Charlie went with me to the Peachtree Road Farmer's market . It's a very exciting place for a dog - lots of people of all ages, other dogs, good smells, the possibility of scraps of something tasty, as well as the lady with the home-baked doggie treats.
Charlie was in fine form Saturday, he was behaving very well and making friends left and right and really being very good. he sat quietly and let any number of small folks pat him - I've been very pleased with his tolerance for the attentions of children. But then, on our way out, we stopped to get a few yellow squash and some figs at the Taylor's booth and there was a little girl with glorious red curls who was watching Charlie with a mixture of fear and curiosity. I asked her if she wanted to pat him and she shrank away in fear. Just as I was thinking "What a pity for a little girl to be so fearful", her father who was standing behind me, told me that a large dog had jumped in their car when she was small and licked her all over the face while she was in the baby seat and couldn't fend him off and that she had been scared ever since.
Well, I sat down on the curbing and asked the little girl, whose name was Susannah, if she would pat Charlie if I held him tight so that he would not lick her, that it would be up to her to touch him. And darned if my little fellow didn't snuggle up to me and sit patiently while this little girl got her courage up to pat him. Not once or twice, but a dozen times. She even got the nerve up to look at his face and ask me why his eyes had black rims and why his lips were black. And then she went over to the dog treat lady, picked out a treat and put the treat on the ground right in front of my boy. And he didn't snarf it or gulp or grab, he picked it up and carried it.
Then later, at Marleen's, he was out on the back patio and he was patiently letting the two Norwich pups and Jack's son chew on him, chase him and generally harass him, without any impatience with the pups. Nancy seemed to realize that he was no danger to the pups as she made no effort to get between them and him.
All in all, my dear boy did very well and behaved like the dog I've been hoping he would become. Good boy, Charlie.
Saturday morning, Charlie went with me to the Peachtree Road Farmer's market . It's a very exciting place for a dog - lots of people of all ages, other dogs, good smells, the possibility of scraps of something tasty, as well as the lady with the home-baked doggie treats.
Charlie was in fine form Saturday, he was behaving very well and making friends left and right and really being very good. he sat quietly and let any number of small folks pat him - I've been very pleased with his tolerance for the attentions of children. But then, on our way out, we stopped to get a few yellow squash and some figs at the Taylor's booth and there was a little girl with glorious red curls who was watching Charlie with a mixture of fear and curiosity. I asked her if she wanted to pat him and she shrank away in fear. Just as I was thinking "What a pity for a little girl to be so fearful", her father who was standing behind me, told me that a large dog had jumped in their car when she was small and licked her all over the face while she was in the baby seat and couldn't fend him off and that she had been scared ever since.
Well, I sat down on the curbing and asked the little girl, whose name was Susannah, if she would pat Charlie if I held him tight so that he would not lick her, that it would be up to her to touch him. And darned if my little fellow didn't snuggle up to me and sit patiently while this little girl got her courage up to pat him. Not once or twice, but a dozen times. She even got the nerve up to look at his face and ask me why his eyes had black rims and why his lips were black. And then she went over to the dog treat lady, picked out a treat and put the treat on the ground right in front of my boy. And he didn't snarf it or gulp or grab, he picked it up and carried it.
Then later, at Marleen's, he was out on the back patio and he was patiently letting the two Norwich pups and Jack's son chew on him, chase him and generally harass him, without any impatience with the pups. Nancy seemed to realize that he was no danger to the pups as she made no effort to get between them and him.
All in all, my dear boy did very well and behaved like the dog I've been hoping he would become. Good boy, Charlie.
Friday, August 28, 2009
And the Rains Came ...
Somewhere around 5 a.m. Friday, Ms. Packratty was awakened by the thunderous drumming of rain on the roof. No thunder - just a torrential blast of rain that apparently dropped about 2-3 inches of rain in the space of 90 minutes to 2 hours. That amount is estimated after emptying the plant trays outside the front door and looking at the level of the pool in the condo complex, where the water was close to the top of the tile coping.
It was still wet enough at Charlie walking time for him to get quite drenched - he's so smart - he knows that when he's wet, he's supposed to go into the travel crate with the nice clean dry towels.
For a brief moment, Ms. Packratty actually thought she was back in her tiny cinderblock rental house that she lived in as a young reporter in Beaufort SC — the back side of the house had a tin roof and a good rainstorm was an event. That house, sadly, was soon after her departure from Beaufort, torn down to make way for an anonymously ugly apartment complex.
The temperatures took a plunge too - it is about 10 degrees cooler hour-by-hour today, than it was on Thursday. Marvelous. And it is payday, as well. All told, the ingredients for a better than decent day.
It followed on the heels of a delightful evening with Ms. Basketcasecafe, a classmate from the bookbinding class last winter. We have been meeting once a week to catch up and we're making friends ... Ms. B is exceedingly talented in the webpage area of the world, a skill Ms. P envies terribly but suspects she does not have the patience to master.
With the weekend at hand and the fact that Ms. P is the Officer of the Day, so to speak, and has to stick close to home and access to the internet connection, there are high hopes of a productive weekend. But heavens, after last weekend's baked bean frenzy, there is plenty of the cleaning still to do - so rather than make ambitious plans, Ms. P is going to be conservative and just take it as it comes - the library, picking up the veg co-op and possibly going to the farmer's market for tomatoes are about all of the hard and fast plans, although she hopes to get the kitchen recovered completely from the Beans Of Hell.
The sad thing that Ms. Packratty does not understand is seeing people - many of whom have more creative and remunerative jobs than she - spend their weeks counting the days until the weekend arrives. While Ms. P hardly sails into work singing, she does not dread the workweek very often, except when she ill enough to feel dreadful, but not ill enough to use a precious sick or vacation day. Oh well, they have to live their lives as best they can and Ms. P has to live hers - but she feels slightly sorry for them somehow - spending 40 hours of your life - or more - focused on the 48 in the weekend seems a bit starved.
It was still wet enough at Charlie walking time for him to get quite drenched - he's so smart - he knows that when he's wet, he's supposed to go into the travel crate with the nice clean dry towels.For a brief moment, Ms. Packratty actually thought she was back in her tiny cinderblock rental house that she lived in as a young reporter in Beaufort SC — the back side of the house had a tin roof and a good rainstorm was an event. That house, sadly, was soon after her departure from Beaufort, torn down to make way for an anonymously ugly apartment complex.
The temperatures took a plunge too - it is about 10 degrees cooler hour-by-hour today, than it was on Thursday. Marvelous. And it is payday, as well. All told, the ingredients for a better than decent day.
It followed on the heels of a delightful evening with Ms. Basketcasecafe, a classmate from the bookbinding class last winter. We have been meeting once a week to catch up and we're making friends ... Ms. B is exceedingly talented in the webpage area of the world, a skill Ms. P envies terribly but suspects she does not have the patience to master.
With the weekend at hand and the fact that Ms. P is the Officer of the Day, so to speak, and has to stick close to home and access to the internet connection, there are high hopes of a productive weekend. But heavens, after last weekend's baked bean frenzy, there is plenty of the cleaning still to do - so rather than make ambitious plans, Ms. P is going to be conservative and just take it as it comes - the library, picking up the veg co-op and possibly going to the farmer's market for tomatoes are about all of the hard and fast plans, although she hopes to get the kitchen recovered completely from the Beans Of Hell.
The sad thing that Ms. Packratty does not understand is seeing people - many of whom have more creative and remunerative jobs than she - spend their weeks counting the days until the weekend arrives. While Ms. P hardly sails into work singing, she does not dread the workweek very often, except when she ill enough to feel dreadful, but not ill enough to use a precious sick or vacation day. Oh well, they have to live their lives as best they can and Ms. P has to live hers - but she feels slightly sorry for them somehow - spending 40 hours of your life - or more - focused on the 48 in the weekend seems a bit starved.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Excuuuuse me?
NEW YORK – Crystal Renn was miserable as a super-thin model who had heart palpitations when she'd worry that there might be calories in Diet Coke.
Her moment of epiphany came when "I couldn't walk another step without being exhausted, or having hair clumps falling out." She knew she needed to live in the body she was supposed to have — specifically a curvy size 12.
Just how the Hades does a size 12 translate to plus size? The *average* American woman is a 14. The notion that a size 12 is a model for plus size just makes me want to throw things.
St. Willis of Carrier
Truly, this man:
should be one of the patron saints of the South.
Last night, massive storms manages to skirt and even spritz the general vicinity of Chez Packrat, but there was no rain, just humidity. So this morning was as sticky as treacle, too warm in the house to even make breakfast. So the a/c is back on, drat it.
Ms. Packratty is looking forward to Labor Day. She has Monday off and then is working half days the remainder of the week because - DRUMROLL PLEASE - the plan is that she is going to stay at Marleen's house and finally get the stair treads polyurethaned. The weekend will be reserved to clearing stuff away and making ready and starting Tuesday afternoon, the top flights will get a first coat, with a second coat on Wednesday; the bottom flight should get a first coat on Wednesday and a second coat on Thursday. Third coats Thursday and Friday is needed, then Ms. P will begin the process of taping off and painting the risers, which can be done a few at a time and without major misery. By working half days, I only use 2 days of my precious remaining holiday time and I should be able to keep myself from overdoing. One hopes.
Tack cloths
Polyurethane high gloss
Latex enamel in bright white
Blue painters tape
find the kneepads
Once that's done, it's back to squirrelling money away toward laying the flooring in the living room and dining room. With some car bills probably coming up and another potential household cost - over and above the furnace and a/c, a conservative approach is required ...
should be one of the patron saints of the South.
Last night, massive storms manages to skirt and even spritz the general vicinity of Chez Packrat, but there was no rain, just humidity. So this morning was as sticky as treacle, too warm in the house to even make breakfast. So the a/c is back on, drat it.
Ms. Packratty is looking forward to Labor Day. She has Monday off and then is working half days the remainder of the week because - DRUMROLL PLEASE - the plan is that she is going to stay at Marleen's house and finally get the stair treads polyurethaned. The weekend will be reserved to clearing stuff away and making ready and starting Tuesday afternoon, the top flights will get a first coat, with a second coat on Wednesday; the bottom flight should get a first coat on Wednesday and a second coat on Thursday. Third coats Thursday and Friday is needed, then Ms. P will begin the process of taping off and painting the risers, which can be done a few at a time and without major misery. By working half days, I only use 2 days of my precious remaining holiday time and I should be able to keep myself from overdoing. One hopes.
Tack cloths
Polyurethane high gloss
Latex enamel in bright white
Blue painters tape
find the kneepads
Once that's done, it's back to squirrelling money away toward laying the flooring in the living room and dining room. With some car bills probably coming up and another potential household cost - over and above the furnace and a/c, a conservative approach is required ...
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Sigh of Relief, Maybe
The car's service manual said that the light that was on and blinking might be caused by a loose gas cap and to remove and replace it and drive on carefully. Lo and behold, the light is gone. I'm still holding my breath, as there are some other things that the poor baby Buick needs done, but if I can just avoid a horror story for a little while ...
It's hot again, I'm debating whether to turn the a/c back on or hope that the storm moving up from the southwest will cool things off a bit more quickly. Temps are forecast in the mid 60s every night, so it is hard to justify having the expensive a/c on when it's 12 degrees cooler outside in the am than it is inside with the a/c running. Someone needs to invent an air system that senses when the outside temp has dropped below the thermostat level and open an intake and pull in, filter and dry outside air.
Time to go to bed and try to sleep. The only good night of sleep I've had in 3+ weeks was when I took my last sleeping pill. Seeing the doctor week after next to get scripts refilled - I think I went 2 years on a scrip for 30, so that's not excessive. Heaven would be an Ambien every night, I think. I can't remember the last time I slept more than 5 hours straight. Fibromyalgia is a real pain that way.
It's hot again, I'm debating whether to turn the a/c back on or hope that the storm moving up from the southwest will cool things off a bit more quickly. Temps are forecast in the mid 60s every night, so it is hard to justify having the expensive a/c on when it's 12 degrees cooler outside in the am than it is inside with the a/c running. Someone needs to invent an air system that senses when the outside temp has dropped below the thermostat level and open an intake and pull in, filter and dry outside air.
Time to go to bed and try to sleep. The only good night of sleep I've had in 3+ weeks was when I took my last sleeping pill. Seeing the doctor week after next to get scripts refilled - I think I went 2 years on a scrip for 30, so that's not excessive. Heaven would be an Ambien every night, I think. I can't remember the last time I slept more than 5 hours straight. Fibromyalgia is a real pain that way.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Math-Impaired
Has Ms. Packratty mentioned what a dunce she is at the mathematics? She just had a panic-stricken moment when she realized that she had added instead of subtracting and it took some fast footwork with the emergency fund to prevent an overdraft. By, gee whiz, roughly the amount of the office party cooking expenditure.
Oh well.
And now the car is saying it needs attention. Dammit.
What was it that Dorothy Parker said? "What fresh Hell is this?" Story of my life.
Oh well.
And now the car is saying it needs attention. Dammit.
What was it that Dorothy Parker said? "What fresh Hell is this?" Story of my life.
Monday, August 24, 2009
And how was the rest of the weekend?
Now, on to the weekend. How bad could it be, you ask?
Well, try this - stayed up late prepping the baked beans; cost of beans and salt pork and other ingredients $13.09, plus disposable chafing dish $12.88. Then put them up for the night, tried to sleep and the house was overheated as the result of having the oven on, slept very poorly; up at 7:30 a.m., walked dog, etc., got box to pack the pans in for transport; bought 5 packages of hamburger buns and 5 packages of hotdog buns $17.70. At 9:30 a.m. put the beans in to reheat, at 10:45 a.m. got them out and packed them in box with newspapers to cushion and insulate; cost of aluminum pans and covers $5.98; showered, dressed, carried stuff out to car, drove to Piedmont Park toll .50 cents, gas undetermined; schlepped beans, dog, buns, water and chafing dish set to site; was subjected to loud music, too much heat, approximately 20 percent of those who said they would bring food had not showed by the time I escaped; after about 1 hour 45 minutes, I nibbled on a rib and ate a bit of my beans (side dishes and dessert being among the dishes of the missing "team" members), Charlie was getting more and more skittish due to noise and my headache was escalating, so I skulked off before the party games could begin as I hate, despise and detest such activities with a passion. Parking $4.75, plus another .50 cent toll. Grand total for 2 hours of relative misery and misfittery - 6 hours of work related to preparing food and $55.40 cents in direct costs for buying and preparing and transporting the food and myself to the park. Gas costs not included. I can't afford any more "fun" or "teambuilding" like that. I feel quite built upon, thankyewverymuch. Oh, and I brought 2 drinks with me as I was sure (and that conviction was borne out) that the only drinks supplied would be sodas with HFCS in them. So add another $2.50 to the cost.
Stopped and got my veg co-op on the way home and then went home and made a sandwich and tried to lie down and rest. Feet hurting terribly. Got to sleep finally about 4 a.m. Sunday and was awake at 8:30 a.m. Sunday was awful - I had to try and get done all the things that I normally do Saturday, as well as cleaning up the beanpots and Sunday's chores. Not again. $57.90. I could have gone out and had bloody lobster and champagne for that.
Well, try this - stayed up late prepping the baked beans; cost of beans and salt pork and other ingredients $13.09, plus disposable chafing dish $12.88. Then put them up for the night, tried to sleep and the house was overheated as the result of having the oven on, slept very poorly; up at 7:30 a.m., walked dog, etc., got box to pack the pans in for transport; bought 5 packages of hamburger buns and 5 packages of hotdog buns $17.70. At 9:30 a.m. put the beans in to reheat, at 10:45 a.m. got them out and packed them in box with newspapers to cushion and insulate; cost of aluminum pans and covers $5.98; showered, dressed, carried stuff out to car, drove to Piedmont Park toll .50 cents, gas undetermined; schlepped beans, dog, buns, water and chafing dish set to site; was subjected to loud music, too much heat, approximately 20 percent of those who said they would bring food had not showed by the time I escaped; after about 1 hour 45 minutes, I nibbled on a rib and ate a bit of my beans (side dishes and dessert being among the dishes of the missing "team" members), Charlie was getting more and more skittish due to noise and my headache was escalating, so I skulked off before the party games could begin as I hate, despise and detest such activities with a passion. Parking $4.75, plus another .50 cent toll. Grand total for 2 hours of relative misery and misfittery - 6 hours of work related to preparing food and $55.40 cents in direct costs for buying and preparing and transporting the food and myself to the park. Gas costs not included. I can't afford any more "fun" or "teambuilding" like that. I feel quite built upon, thankyewverymuch. Oh, and I brought 2 drinks with me as I was sure (and that conviction was borne out) that the only drinks supplied would be sodas with HFCS in them. So add another $2.50 to the cost.
Stopped and got my veg co-op on the way home and then went home and made a sandwich and tried to lie down and rest. Feet hurting terribly. Got to sleep finally about 4 a.m. Sunday and was awake at 8:30 a.m. Sunday was awful - I had to try and get done all the things that I normally do Saturday, as well as cleaning up the beanpots and Sunday's chores. Not again. $57.90. I could have gone out and had bloody lobster and champagne for that.
New Camera
Yes, the camera arrived, but not without some drama. When I got home Friday, I checked the mailbox and nada. Nothing at all, no bills, no delivery slip, nothing. Got into the house and checked and lo and behold, the USPS site said that a delivery attempt had been made and a notice left. There WAS NO NOTICE.
The last time I had difficulties with delivery on an insured parcel, the parcel arrived plundered. A set of expensive scissors was neatly removed from the ornamental fob and tip guard and a set of stitch markers was missing.
Needless to say, I was not having that with this and on Saturday morning, in between getting ready for the department "retreat" (more on that idiocy later), I ran by the post office with the printout that had the tracking number on it. When I rang at the call window, I was delighted to see my former carrier (the one who let Charlie kiss her) answer at the window. She took the number and disappeared into the bowels of the PO and emerged with my package about 10 minutes later. The box appeared to have gotten wet and had some "damage" to the sealing tape, so I opened it promptly and discovered that a> no water had reached the inside and b> the attempt to open the box had been unsuccessful. Perusing the camera and the manual though, Ms. P has determined that there WILL be a learning curve.
The last time I had difficulties with delivery on an insured parcel, the parcel arrived plundered. A set of expensive scissors was neatly removed from the ornamental fob and tip guard and a set of stitch markers was missing.
Needless to say, I was not having that with this and on Saturday morning, in between getting ready for the department "retreat" (more on that idiocy later), I ran by the post office with the printout that had the tracking number on it. When I rang at the call window, I was delighted to see my former carrier (the one who let Charlie kiss her) answer at the window. She took the number and disappeared into the bowels of the PO and emerged with my package about 10 minutes later. The box appeared to have gotten wet and had some "damage" to the sealing tape, so I opened it promptly and discovered that a> no water had reached the inside and b> the attempt to open the box had been unsuccessful. Perusing the camera and the manual though, Ms. P has determined that there WILL be a learning curve.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Wow!
Ms. Packratty came into her office this morning to find a large box waiting in her cube. Upon opening, she discovered an utterly yummy Namaste Knitting bag, one of their newest, in a deep plum.
See picture.
Yum Yum Yum.
Thanks, Mom!
(Yes, that is a case of San Pelligrino water the bag is sitting on. Ms. P is always fighting the food issue and she likes fizzy, hence, fizzy without calories.).
And she is deeply hopeful that the new camera will be here tonight, as the USPS website reported that it reached my local PO at 9 a.m. this morning. OTOH, if Atlanta emulates Chicago, said camera may be in limbo until sometime next week. The clever little camera bag I bought on eBay arrived in 3 days:
It's blue and Ms. P is very pleased with it.Almost quitting time at the zoo and time to go home and ruin my evening cooking for the departmental "luau" that is being staged Saturday to improve team spirit. Yes, paying for and cooking food for people whom I only know from work and would not socialize with except that we work for the same company is clearly the way to waste half or more of my precious weekend.
And doing it in August is a public park in the center of the city is just another way to insure that Ms. P will be miserable. We do not fare well in the heat and we sunburn in minutes, so this is bound to be a trip to one of the circles of Hades. On top of the food, Ms. P also had to go purchase a disposable chafing dish. Clearly looking for a thrift store chafing dish, plate will be just fine, should be on the Packratty radar, since the disposable ones are not cheap and they are ... disposable.
Sigh.
2000 hours, time to go.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Oh Hellish Day
So the alarm didn't go off, but the dog did. Enter mop.
So we dropped the breakfast eggs on the floor. Enter broom, dustpan; mop redux.
A trip in the parking lot netted one whacked arm, one scuffed knee. Exit trousers, worn once, now out at knee and unrepairable for workwear.
A wreck on Georgia 400. Enter Ms. Packratty 38 minutes late to work. With a cellphone whose battery was on Low.
So "lunch", which was abbreviated also took her to the Target, for a charger for the office (40% cheaper than buying a spare from the cell phone store) and some Alice bands for the niece from the Target $1 racks. Ms. Packratty loves the $1 racks as a place to find goodies for the kiddos.
S0 the day sort of has to get better and at least since 3 p.m., it has. The jury is still out.
Ms. Packratty received her camera bag Wednesday evening, but when she checked the shipping data on the USPS site, it seems the camera, which had shipping scheduled on the 15th WAS ONLY PICKED UP BY USPS ON WEDNESDAY. Gee - does the USPS possibly think this might be why they are continuing to lose money by the long tonne? I mean I read somewhere that for a while, eBay was putting something like 1 million new parcels into the system, many sent Priority Mail and they couldn't make enough to break even with that. With this level of service, they seem to be committing seppukku by idiocy and inefficiency. Like the moronic clerk at the office near my workplace who, while Ms. Packratty was filling out a claim for sewing scissors pilfered from a package sent by her Maternal Parental Unit, called someone in Washington to make sure that it was legal to mail scissors, since they were sharp and might be considered a weapon. I think her brother must have been the TSA goon who was forcing the octogenarian lady in the wheelchair to try to totter, caneless, through a metal detector. Clueless, moronic, totally lacking in common sense.
In another venue, Ms. Packratty is trying to enter into a civilised debate over the health care plans that are being proposed left, right and sideways. One person said that the Obama plan does not call for covering the medical costs of illegal aliens, yet if the issue of illegals using the ERs as primary care and not paying for it is not resolved, the issue of "affordable healthcare" will not be resolved.
And actually, it turns out that if you subtract the illegals and people who are temporarily without insurance - i.e. between jobs - the number of career uninsured is significantly lower. Of course, Mr. Obama does want to have an amnesty for illegals, so once they've been amnestied, they won't be illegals, so technically, I suppose his statement saying the plan would not cover illegals is true.
So it sounds to me that what we need to do is revive our county health departments and the Public Health Service and public clinics with free and cheap basic medical care and screening. And have Urgent Care centers to divert earaches from ERs and then figure out some way to make "bridge" insurance affordable when people lose a job, change employers, graduate college and are jobhunting, etc.
And I say this as someone who did go through a prolonged period of "temping" and contract work and had to buy major medical with a high deductible and pay most of the costs of my routine care. And guess what? Although I didn't have a lot to spare, I could manage and my doctor and dentist both allowed me a lower charge AND time to pay.
The disabled and elderly have Medicare and Medicaid and those programs do work.
Another issue is that regardless of coverage, some people will not get care. I had a co-worker who had insurance, yet is now on disability and Medicare and hoping for a kidney transplant. Why, you ask? Why he had uncontrolled high blood pressure and the night he was taken to the ER near death, he had not seen a doctor in more than 6 years. Yet he HAD insurance. He doesn't now - he's one of the unfortunates that my tax dollars are paying for.
It's a complicated issue - but throwing the baby out with the bathwater isn't the solution.
So we dropped the breakfast eggs on the floor. Enter broom, dustpan; mop redux.
A trip in the parking lot netted one whacked arm, one scuffed knee. Exit trousers, worn once, now out at knee and unrepairable for workwear.
A wreck on Georgia 400. Enter Ms. Packratty 38 minutes late to work. With a cellphone whose battery was on Low.
So "lunch", which was abbreviated also took her to the Target, for a charger for the office (40% cheaper than buying a spare from the cell phone store) and some Alice bands for the niece from the Target $1 racks. Ms. Packratty loves the $1 racks as a place to find goodies for the kiddos.
S0 the day sort of has to get better and at least since 3 p.m., it has. The jury is still out.
Ms. Packratty received her camera bag Wednesday evening, but when she checked the shipping data on the USPS site, it seems the camera, which had shipping scheduled on the 15th WAS ONLY PICKED UP BY USPS ON WEDNESDAY. Gee - does the USPS possibly think this might be why they are continuing to lose money by the long tonne? I mean I read somewhere that for a while, eBay was putting something like 1 million new parcels into the system, many sent Priority Mail and they couldn't make enough to break even with that. With this level of service, they seem to be committing seppukku by idiocy and inefficiency. Like the moronic clerk at the office near my workplace who, while Ms. Packratty was filling out a claim for sewing scissors pilfered from a package sent by her Maternal Parental Unit, called someone in Washington to make sure that it was legal to mail scissors, since they were sharp and might be considered a weapon. I think her brother must have been the TSA goon who was forcing the octogenarian lady in the wheelchair to try to totter, caneless, through a metal detector. Clueless, moronic, totally lacking in common sense.
In another venue, Ms. Packratty is trying to enter into a civilised debate over the health care plans that are being proposed left, right and sideways. One person said that the Obama plan does not call for covering the medical costs of illegal aliens, yet if the issue of illegals using the ERs as primary care and not paying for it is not resolved, the issue of "affordable healthcare" will not be resolved.
And actually, it turns out that if you subtract the illegals and people who are temporarily without insurance - i.e. between jobs - the number of career uninsured is significantly lower. Of course, Mr. Obama does want to have an amnesty for illegals, so once they've been amnestied, they won't be illegals, so technically, I suppose his statement saying the plan would not cover illegals is true.
So it sounds to me that what we need to do is revive our county health departments and the Public Health Service and public clinics with free and cheap basic medical care and screening. And have Urgent Care centers to divert earaches from ERs and then figure out some way to make "bridge" insurance affordable when people lose a job, change employers, graduate college and are jobhunting, etc.
And I say this as someone who did go through a prolonged period of "temping" and contract work and had to buy major medical with a high deductible and pay most of the costs of my routine care. And guess what? Although I didn't have a lot to spare, I could manage and my doctor and dentist both allowed me a lower charge AND time to pay.
The disabled and elderly have Medicare and Medicaid and those programs do work.
Another issue is that regardless of coverage, some people will not get care. I had a co-worker who had insurance, yet is now on disability and Medicare and hoping for a kidney transplant. Why, you ask? Why he had uncontrolled high blood pressure and the night he was taken to the ER near death, he had not seen a doctor in more than 6 years. Yet he HAD insurance. He doesn't now - he's one of the unfortunates that my tax dollars are paying for.
It's a complicated issue - but throwing the baby out with the bathwater isn't the solution.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Victory
Ms. Packratty's little digital camera broke a couple of months ago and she has sorely missed it. Despite getting T-Mobile to give her a new phone (when it's been 3 years since your last new phone and you are out of contract and musing about other companies, it is *amazing* how generous the fellows at the cell phone store can be) which included a camera, Ms. Packratty really wanted a dedicated camera AND something a bit more like a real film camera (part of her sort of misses her reporting days when the Nikon FM went *everywhere* with her.
After reading and looking and admitting her long term bias for Nikons and sternly assessing the available cash situation, Ms. P started watching Nikon Coolpix 5700 cameras on eBay and today she scarfed one up for less than $75. Even if it needs a cleaning and servicing, Ms. P is elated to have snagged a deal for about a quarter of the fixed price. Yes, it's a model that's a couple of years + old. Fine. Ms. P does not care about being on the bleeding edge of technology. The iconography should be the same as her existing dead Coolpix, which should save on the learning curve and she admits, freely, that she's a Nikon user by preference.
And instead of dumping the poor camera in her capacious handbag (which may have been a factor in the demise of the previous camera) Ms. P immediately went and bid on a small camera bag.
In other notes, Ms. P is more than 25% of the way through paying for the painting of her father and niece on the beach that she commissioned - should be close to halfway paid for by the end of the year. That and having the car paid for and closing down the sole credit line, well, let's just say, with any luck at all, perhaps Ms. Packratty will have paid off all debt other than house debt in the next year - without resorting to some miserable financial strictures. She recently increased her 401K contributions and started putting $10 per paycheck into the employee stock purchase program and plans to resume automatically funding her Ameritrade account once the hot season and the humongous electrical bills are past.
The wisdom of purchasing the rollaround portable a/c unit for the bedroom was proven out in the current bill. The cost of cooling per day dropped - and last month before the portable was set up, the bedroom upstairs seldom dropped below 82 degrees. Now it is staying right around 78 even early in the evening and the main a/c system is not running around the clock. With the burden of the upstairs removed, it is cycling off regularly in the evenings and overnight and is able to cool the rest of the house down after the heat of the day passes. The day it was 98 outside in the late afternoon, the house was at 82 when Ms. P returned home, but the minute the sun set, the temperature moved back down toward 78 quite promptly. The fan still needs replacing and Ms. P is quite torn between replacing the fan motor for $300-500 or saving up for the whole thing. If she can find a contractor who will apply part of the fan cost toward a new system IF it does not resolve the slow cooling function, she may go ahead and repair it. Otherwise,l the wisdom of putting $400 into a 28 year old furnace escapes her (even if said furnace has been run about half the time a furnace belonging to a more cold-sensitive person would have).
And now it's time to drive home ...
After reading and looking and admitting her long term bias for Nikons and sternly assessing the available cash situation, Ms. P started watching Nikon Coolpix 5700 cameras on eBay and today she scarfed one up for less than $75. Even if it needs a cleaning and servicing, Ms. P is elated to have snagged a deal for about a quarter of the fixed price. Yes, it's a model that's a couple of years + old. Fine. Ms. P does not care about being on the bleeding edge of technology. The iconography should be the same as her existing dead Coolpix, which should save on the learning curve and she admits, freely, that she's a Nikon user by preference.
And instead of dumping the poor camera in her capacious handbag (which may have been a factor in the demise of the previous camera) Ms. P immediately went and bid on a small camera bag.
In other notes, Ms. P is more than 25% of the way through paying for the painting of her father and niece on the beach that she commissioned - should be close to halfway paid for by the end of the year. That and having the car paid for and closing down the sole credit line, well, let's just say, with any luck at all, perhaps Ms. Packratty will have paid off all debt other than house debt in the next year - without resorting to some miserable financial strictures. She recently increased her 401K contributions and started putting $10 per paycheck into the employee stock purchase program and plans to resume automatically funding her Ameritrade account once the hot season and the humongous electrical bills are past.
The wisdom of purchasing the rollaround portable a/c unit for the bedroom was proven out in the current bill. The cost of cooling per day dropped - and last month before the portable was set up, the bedroom upstairs seldom dropped below 82 degrees. Now it is staying right around 78 even early in the evening and the main a/c system is not running around the clock. With the burden of the upstairs removed, it is cycling off regularly in the evenings and overnight and is able to cool the rest of the house down after the heat of the day passes. The day it was 98 outside in the late afternoon, the house was at 82 when Ms. P returned home, but the minute the sun set, the temperature moved back down toward 78 quite promptly. The fan still needs replacing and Ms. P is quite torn between replacing the fan motor for $300-500 or saving up for the whole thing. If she can find a contractor who will apply part of the fan cost toward a new system IF it does not resolve the slow cooling function, she may go ahead and repair it. Otherwise,l the wisdom of putting $400 into a 28 year old furnace escapes her (even if said furnace has been run about half the time a furnace belonging to a more cold-sensitive person would have).
And now it's time to drive home ...
Thursday, August 13, 2009
On a Householding topic
Why hasn't anyone ever designed an extra freezer that would be roughly the size and shape of a standard top of the fridge freezer and designed to sit on top of the fridge? For those who don't need an enormous extra freezer and who lack the square footage in the kitchen ....
Another Home Grown Terrorist Islamist Guilty - But why aren't we trying them for treason?
Ehsanul Islam Sadequee, 23, faces 60 years in prison after a federal jury in Atlanta convicted him Wednesday of four counts of aiding terrorists.
My heart bleeds. Not. Well, actually, the notion that we are going to have to pay for his room and board for 60 years irks me.
He intended treason again the country he was born and raised in. Hang the little bastard and deport his family. I they raised one viper in our bosom, they're likely to continue.
And his sister says he's misunderstood. This jerk and his buddy allegedly got radicalized at a local sinkhole of Mohammedanism - AL FAROOQ MASJID - too bad it is still standing ... if it were up to me, we'd have let the Atlanta Fire Department use it for practice.
My heart bleeds. Not. Well, actually, the notion that we are going to have to pay for his room and board for 60 years irks me.
He intended treason again the country he was born and raised in. Hang the little bastard and deport his family. I they raised one viper in our bosom, they're likely to continue.
And his sister says he's misunderstood. This jerk and his buddy allegedly got radicalized at a local sinkhole of Mohammedanism - AL FAROOQ MASJID - too bad it is still standing ... if it were up to me, we'd have let the Atlanta Fire Department use it for practice.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Tired of the Trendy "Frugalistas"
As someone who has been - out of necessity - practicing frugality for many years, Ms. Packratty is somewhat grumpy about the nouveau frugal. 'Scuse me - too many of these folks are being frugal now because over the last decade, while they were earning twice what I was, they were spending three times as much. And we're supposed to salute them for their bravery in going without sushi and designer vodka?
Well. As a long time frugal, whose wardrobe is mostly consignment, eBay and - when purchased retail - from stores like Marshall's, Ms. Packratty has a somewhat jaundiced view of the newly frugal. She strongly suspects that most of them will return to their wastrel ways at the first uptick in the economy. There are others who despite crowing about their frugal or green ways just amaze her by their inconsistency. Like recycling bathwater, but having a child who can walk and talk still using paper diapers?
Serious long term frugality does not need to be some pleasureless deathmarch, nor is it endless deprivation - in fact, Ms. P believes that's one of the fastest ways to fall off the wagon. Ms. P's version includes using a warehouse club like Sam's or Costco for things such as toilet paper. No, she does not buy the cheap stuff, she buys the good stuff. But she buys it in 4-6 month quantities for about the same price as buying the cheap stuff at the supermarket. This benefits the frugal in 2 ways - for one, you get the higher quality for the cheap price AND you don't have to think about TP or paper towels or X or Y or Z for months at a time. Even in a condo, Ms. P. manages to stash months worth of things that are non-perishable or household. Bargains come in the oddest places, too.
Does she bake her own bread? No - it's too much time out of a busy week and heats the house up too much in the summer. Sure there are times in the winter when a batch of no-knead bread or a hearty beef stew is the pip. But not in August.
The things that *aren't* frugal though - driving around in circles to use special coupons; buying brands we don't really like (hint - we won't use them if we don't like them), buying cheaply made clothing or shoes, those are the things to watch for.
Beyond that, Ms. Packratty recommends the public library for amusement. If you're new to watching your pennies, movie theatres and bookstores are not your friend. The library, unless your tastes are quite arcane and once you get over the compulsion to be up to the minute, can answer about 95% of your reading and viewing.
Oh, and the way to "save money over cable" is not to sign up for a dish or Netflix or some other scheme, but to break your addiction to the television - an addiction that pushes more things at you left, right and sideways.
Well. As a long time frugal, whose wardrobe is mostly consignment, eBay and - when purchased retail - from stores like Marshall's, Ms. Packratty has a somewhat jaundiced view of the newly frugal. She strongly suspects that most of them will return to their wastrel ways at the first uptick in the economy. There are others who despite crowing about their frugal or green ways just amaze her by their inconsistency. Like recycling bathwater, but having a child who can walk and talk still using paper diapers?
Serious long term frugality does not need to be some pleasureless deathmarch, nor is it endless deprivation - in fact, Ms. P believes that's one of the fastest ways to fall off the wagon. Ms. P's version includes using a warehouse club like Sam's or Costco for things such as toilet paper. No, she does not buy the cheap stuff, she buys the good stuff. But she buys it in 4-6 month quantities for about the same price as buying the cheap stuff at the supermarket. This benefits the frugal in 2 ways - for one, you get the higher quality for the cheap price AND you don't have to think about TP or paper towels or X or Y or Z for months at a time. Even in a condo, Ms. P. manages to stash months worth of things that are non-perishable or household. Bargains come in the oddest places, too.
Does she bake her own bread? No - it's too much time out of a busy week and heats the house up too much in the summer. Sure there are times in the winter when a batch of no-knead bread or a hearty beef stew is the pip. But not in August.
The things that *aren't* frugal though - driving around in circles to use special coupons; buying brands we don't really like (hint - we won't use them if we don't like them), buying cheaply made clothing or shoes, those are the things to watch for.
Beyond that, Ms. Packratty recommends the public library for amusement. If you're new to watching your pennies, movie theatres and bookstores are not your friend. The library, unless your tastes are quite arcane and once you get over the compulsion to be up to the minute, can answer about 95% of your reading and viewing.
Oh, and the way to "save money over cable" is not to sign up for a dish or Netflix or some other scheme, but to break your addiction to the television - an addiction that pushes more things at you left, right and sideways.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Beastly Hot
The heat continues to hover over us like a brass bowl. It's pleasant only very late at night or first thing in the morning, so Ms. Packratty has taken to dunking herself in the condo pool sometime between 9 p.m. and bedtime. It has a very nice cooling effect - temporary, but pleasant.
This weekend was an on-call weekend at work, so there wasn't much gadding around. Ms. P is still considering what to do about the ceiling fan in her bedroom - 10 days ago, she woke in the small hours, flipped on the light and discovered that the ceiling fan - oscillating wildly - was dangling over the bed, hanging by a single screw. Needless to say, it came down in a matter of minutes and certainly woke Ms. P right up. Now the decision is - new fan or just a light? The jury is still out.
Ms. P has decided to continue in the vegetable co-op program for the next quarter. Although there are selections that really don't please her from time to time, getting a sack of assorted fruits and vegetables every week has pushed the envelope a bit and prompted the consumption of more vegetables. The only problem now is that we have a lovely whack of yellow squash and it's too warm to want to fire up the oven for squash casserole. Ms. P was thinking that she would put the casserole together tonight, then pop it in the oven at 7 a.m. when she walks Charlie and then put it back in the fridge before work and just reheat in the nuker as needed. This past week's bag included some lovely blueberries and dumping a handful of these into a half a carton of vanilla yogurt was a tasty treat. The dead ripe cantaloupe - half of it - became breakfast this morning along with a banana - really a nice way to start a very warm Monday.
Packrattery progress has included the disposal of more junk and more detrashing. Our next project is to get some plastic and mothballs and roll up the 2 orientals and get them stuffed in the attic at Marleen's where she said they were welcome to stay until the floors were done. If the weather is dry next weekend, this is a substantially likely project. Then in October, I will be house sitting and I plan to take a couple of days off - or even half days which might work better - and varnish the stairs when I can sleep elsewhere and not have to use the stairs.
I am still trying to master my new phone and learn to take pictures with it, as the baby digital is dead and I am lurking on ebay trying to find a replacement at my price. Pictures to come.
This weekend was an on-call weekend at work, so there wasn't much gadding around. Ms. P is still considering what to do about the ceiling fan in her bedroom - 10 days ago, she woke in the small hours, flipped on the light and discovered that the ceiling fan - oscillating wildly - was dangling over the bed, hanging by a single screw. Needless to say, it came down in a matter of minutes and certainly woke Ms. P right up. Now the decision is - new fan or just a light? The jury is still out.
Ms. P has decided to continue in the vegetable co-op program for the next quarter. Although there are selections that really don't please her from time to time, getting a sack of assorted fruits and vegetables every week has pushed the envelope a bit and prompted the consumption of more vegetables. The only problem now is that we have a lovely whack of yellow squash and it's too warm to want to fire up the oven for squash casserole. Ms. P was thinking that she would put the casserole together tonight, then pop it in the oven at 7 a.m. when she walks Charlie and then put it back in the fridge before work and just reheat in the nuker as needed. This past week's bag included some lovely blueberries and dumping a handful of these into a half a carton of vanilla yogurt was a tasty treat. The dead ripe cantaloupe - half of it - became breakfast this morning along with a banana - really a nice way to start a very warm Monday.
Packrattery progress has included the disposal of more junk and more detrashing. Our next project is to get some plastic and mothballs and roll up the 2 orientals and get them stuffed in the attic at Marleen's where she said they were welcome to stay until the floors were done. If the weather is dry next weekend, this is a substantially likely project. Then in October, I will be house sitting and I plan to take a couple of days off - or even half days which might work better - and varnish the stairs when I can sleep elsewhere and not have to use the stairs.
I am still trying to master my new phone and learn to take pictures with it, as the baby digital is dead and I am lurking on ebay trying to find a replacement at my price. Pictures to come.
Thursday, August 06, 2009
Summertime Insomnia
It's hot here. Even inside, you can almost feel the heat outside pressing in like a large hairy animal. Ms. Packratty is not terribly fond of this type of heat, which seems to abate only in the late evenings and early morning hours after it rains and it is not raining nearly enough to suit.
One of the side effects is that Ms. Packratty is having a terrible bout of insomnia. The lying in bed almost asleep type (where every noise starts you wide awake) until about 3-4 a.m., when suddenly she is deeply asleep - only to have the verdammt alarm clock start chirping away. Ms. Packratty is reminded of a West Point cadet ditty sung on occasion by her PPU which goes "someday I'm going to murder the bugler". In Ms. Packratty's case, it will be the alarm clock which is slaughtered, but even so, it's self-punishment as she will then have to go out and buy a new one.
The current bout is 5 nights old - last night the sleep hourage made it to a little more then 4 hours with the help of some melatonin and a cup of Celestial Seasonings Sleepytime. No dinner seems to help a bit as then there is less of an issue with indigestion causing wakefulness. All in all, not a pleasant thing. Ms. Packratty has exactly one sleeping pill left from her last prescription and is loathe to use it except in an utter emergency.
In other news, when it is hot outside and since the Packratty budget does not extend to lowering the temperature of Chez Packrat below about 78 degrees, it's time to sit still and read a lot. The current and/or recent reading menu has included:
By heresies distressed - David Weber. SciFi and while not as engrossing as the Honorverse, still a good read.
Dancing to the precipice : the life of Lucie de la Tour du Pin - Caroline Moorehead. A bio of a woman whose life intersects with the French Revolution.
We band of angels : the untold story of American nurses trapped on Bataan by the Japanese - Elizabeth Norman A look at a group of servicewomen who have largely been forgotten, but whose courage and endurance were beyond question.
Four seasons in Rome : on twins, insomnia, and the biggest funeral in the history of the world - Anthony Doerr I always like to read about Italy and Rome, but this account of a year in Rome underwritten by a foundation for artists of various sorts, recounts more a year that seems subsumed by coping with twin children in a foreign land. I can't recommend it as much as I can others, such as "Extra Virgin".
I've also read several books recently about the plight of women in the Mohammedan world and find myself depressed by the fact that almost none of them reject Mohammedanism as the root cause of their oppression, preferring instead to claim (despite the prevalence of female oppression in conjunction with a Mohammedan majority/government) that somehow, Mohammedanism is not to blame for the excesses committed by its adherents. Yeah. Right.
There has been little reading and only a little bookbinding going. Ms. P is varnishing two pieces of oak plank to serve as pressing boards to supplement the little finishing press that she made with the help of Marleen's Joe last month. Pictures to come.
One of the side effects is that Ms. Packratty is having a terrible bout of insomnia. The lying in bed almost asleep type (where every noise starts you wide awake) until about 3-4 a.m., when suddenly she is deeply asleep - only to have the verdammt alarm clock start chirping away. Ms. Packratty is reminded of a West Point cadet ditty sung on occasion by her PPU which goes "someday I'm going to murder the bugler". In Ms. Packratty's case, it will be the alarm clock which is slaughtered, but even so, it's self-punishment as she will then have to go out and buy a new one.
The current bout is 5 nights old - last night the sleep hourage made it to a little more then 4 hours with the help of some melatonin and a cup of Celestial Seasonings Sleepytime. No dinner seems to help a bit as then there is less of an issue with indigestion causing wakefulness. All in all, not a pleasant thing. Ms. Packratty has exactly one sleeping pill left from her last prescription and is loathe to use it except in an utter emergency.
In other news, when it is hot outside and since the Packratty budget does not extend to lowering the temperature of Chez Packrat below about 78 degrees, it's time to sit still and read a lot. The current and/or recent reading menu has included:
By heresies distressed - David Weber. SciFi and while not as engrossing as the Honorverse, still a good read.
Dancing to the precipice : the life of Lucie de la Tour du Pin - Caroline Moorehead. A bio of a woman whose life intersects with the French Revolution.
We band of angels : the untold story of American nurses trapped on Bataan by the Japanese - Elizabeth Norman A look at a group of servicewomen who have largely been forgotten, but whose courage and endurance were beyond question.
Four seasons in Rome : on twins, insomnia, and the biggest funeral in the history of the world - Anthony Doerr I always like to read about Italy and Rome, but this account of a year in Rome underwritten by a foundation for artists of various sorts, recounts more a year that seems subsumed by coping with twin children in a foreign land. I can't recommend it as much as I can others, such as "Extra Virgin".
I've also read several books recently about the plight of women in the Mohammedan world and find myself depressed by the fact that almost none of them reject Mohammedanism as the root cause of their oppression, preferring instead to claim (despite the prevalence of female oppression in conjunction with a Mohammedan majority/government) that somehow, Mohammedanism is not to blame for the excesses committed by its adherents. Yeah. Right.
There has been little reading and only a little bookbinding going. Ms. P is varnishing two pieces of oak plank to serve as pressing boards to supplement the little finishing press that she made with the help of Marleen's Joe last month. Pictures to come.
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