Last week, I told you that we got my daughter's birthday card back. It had a bright yellow label on it that listed the house as vacant. Saturday, we got Thelma's card back. It was listed as 'Insufficient Address'. I had the sneaking suspicion that neither of those cards even made it to the UK. In fact, I was pretty sure they hadn't gotten any further that Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
So I took the envelopes back to the post office. The girl there was able to confirm my suspicions. Despite the 'UK' plainly written under the addresses, in spite of the International Stamp, they were trying (and failed) to match them to possible US addresses.
As irritatng as this was, really, I was much relieved. For both of the cards to have come up missing, I had a sickening feeling that someone had seen the colorful envelopes in the outgoing mail and simply picked them up hoping to get lucky and find something tucked inside them. (My daughter's card did have a gift card), so it was a bit of a relief to find that wasn't the case.
She expertly took a marker to the envelopes and obliterated all the bar codes. She dropped them back into the system. We shall see. I have never had a problem, and I've mailed plenty of cards and letters there. Hopefully that was a one off.
Today, since it was expected to be pretty warm, the plan was to go up to the new build and install the kitchen window so that we could finish up the rough wiring. There was also a bathroom window to be put in, but there was no wiring to worry about on the outside of that wall. We also needed to install a small window in the computer cubby.
We got up early and headed out. Half way there, the tire went flat. Tim said, "It's that rim." We immediately pulled off the road into a gravel lot of a service center. How's that for luck?
Tim got out of the truck and looked. "We're f-----." he said.
Tim has a problem. He knew that rim was bad, but he was trying to buy a set of rims. He didn't want to get just one. He wants his truck to be purty. Things like that drive me nuts because the fact is, playing the waiting game, waiting until you find exactly what you want sometimes, SOMETIMES bites you in the butt, and this waiting game bit us big time.
A young man was just coming to work. He and Tim talked. Tim came back and said, "He's got a truck just like this and he can sell us a rim for it.
So our bearded buddy headed home to get that rim, and Tim pulled out the jack and got ready to pull the wheel. When he got it off and I saw how bad it was, I really was upset with him. The rim had a six inch split in it. No wonder the tire went flat! Why does the man take chances like that??!! I said, "You should have gotten another rim just to hold you over until you found the rims of your dreams, Tim."
He didn't say anything. I said, "How much is that guy selling you the rim for?"
He said, "$60. I got $40 in my wallet."
I volunteered to walk back to the Country Fair to use their ATM. The walk would do me good. I figured it was a mile, a mile and a half back. Not far. It would be much better than standing around feeling grumpy at my husband. Hindsight's 20/20 and I'm sure he saw plainly what he should have done. He certainly did not need to hear my thoughts on it.
So I set off. I walked and I walked and I walked. It sure seemed a lot farther on foot than it did whipping by in a vehicle. Eventually I got there, and sat down for a short break and to call Tim. The guy came back with the rim. He said, "My boss will not let me mount a tire on this rim here. He'd be worried about liability. But if you take the rim two houses down, I got a friend there that will do it for you." Now how's that for luck?
Tim carried the rim down, and then walked back and rolled the bad rim with the tire on. The man immediately stopped what he was doing and took care of the tire. The young man's father happened by and took Tim and the repaired tire back to the truck.
So anyhow, I called Tim just as he was finishing up and heading to where I was. Which was great because the ATM, the one that I had walked 2.4 miles to get to, was out of service! So he picked me up (which saved me the 2.3 mile walk back) and we drove into town to the bank and we got the money to pay the balance of the rim and the money to pay the kid who mounted the tire.
We eventually did make it to the new build and we got the bathroom window put in. We will go back tomorrow and (hopefully) get the other two windows in.
We got home and Mangey was waiting. His mange has flared up again and one half of his face is raw, just sickening to look at. It makes me so mad. I don't know where he is picking this stuff up from, but I think that when he picks up a case of it, his owners just refuse to let him in the house. He's on the street. I know that I said that I was done feeding the ferals, but I can't ignore the poor thing. I got him a can of cat food and added a dose of Ivermectin. It worked before, and very quickly. I am sure it will work again. I fed him outside.
I walked into the livingroom. "Mangey's got mange again." Tim looked pretty unbothered by the news. I said firmly, "When we move to the new house, we bringing him with us." Tim looked at me. "Our cat? Of course we are..."
"We're bringing Houdi and Mangey. I'm not leaving him behind."
Tim didn't say we weren't.
♥️ the cats and hope the Ivermectin heals the mange! Hooray for you making the decision that Mangey will be living with you two humans and Houdi.
ReplyDeleteHowever, the Man human ... hrumph! They do drive us up the wall, don't they?!? LOL
It cleared the problem up very quickly last time got it. And he was a mess, very much worse than he is now. I expect no less this time.
DeleteNice to see I'm not the only one who makes plans and then has to change them...though in your case it was from outside events. If I had a man in my life I'm sure I'd have many similar situations to yours.
ReplyDeleteIn this family, being able to do a quick change step is a necessity!
DeleteOne of my best cats was rescued from my mother's neighbor. He raised white german shepherds and would go to the pound and "adopt" a litter of kittens for them to kill in their own good time. One cat came through the fence, through mom's dog door, and fed from the dog bowl. Then she went into the living room and made herself comfy on my brother's feet. When I was on my way to the new house, mom scooped up that kitten and put her in my car. I had Pasha for nearly twenty years. And we turned in that neighbor and he was put out of the dog breeding business.
ReplyDeletePeople are just awful sometimes. I will never understand why someone would teach a dog to kill cats.
DeleteGood for you. I hope Mangey survives that long.
ReplyDeleteThe last time he had this, he rebounded very quickly. Once he is past this, I can let him inside, but I can"t bring a cat with a contagious disease inside. Once he is healed, we can slap a seresto collar on him and bring him inside. He is a personable cat and he and Houdi get along fine.
DeleteWouldn't the mail be machine sorted? I don't know if it makes a difference but we write England and not UK on cards.
ReplyDeleteWhat a bad Tim to cause so much bother but people seemed nice and helpful. I can't believe how cheap the rim was.
Good on you for looking after the delightfully named Mangey. Just curious, when do you think you might move to the new build?
I don't know exactly how it works. I know that as it processes, it is run through a machine that puts barcodes on it, that allows it to be processed further by machine. This is odd that it happened to two letters mailed the same day. It truly hasn't happened before. Well. At least not that I'm aware of.
DeleteIt certainly did come back and bite! Thankfully fate had you in the right place to get sorted, but that was a bit more exercise than you hoped for!
ReplyDeleteGood cat decision. He came back to you because he knows you care
Oh, it worked the mad out, and that was probably a good thing. I think he does realize we can help him.
DeleteGlad you are taking both cats with you when you eventually move Debby. I looked at that photo of the envelope and the address is perfect. Perhaps a certain laziness on the part of the person who had to process it maybe.
ReplyDeleteNot sure what happened there, but let me know when (if?) you receive it. I'm just curious.
DeletePoor Mangey - I hope he recovers as quickly as before. Thank goodness he's got you to care for him.
ReplyDeleteThe tyre saga sounds wearing but at least it was settled, quite expensively, and you were able to work on the new house.
All's well that ends well.
DeleteIt can be so hard sometimes not to say "I told you so!"
ReplyDeleteJaycee, I struggle with it - and mightily sometimes!
DeleteI'm not sure I've ever lost any mail going out, but I've lost a surprising number of it coming in thanks to the USPS Informed Delivery. 99% of what I lose is junk mail but last fall, it was an life insurance claim form for my grandmother's estate. Fortunately I could also print it out online and fill it out. I suspect they go to one of my neighbors since there are three roads in close proximity with the same name followed by St., Dr., and Heights Dr. I would like to slap the brainchild who did that.
ReplyDeleteI'm odd compared to most of my peers. I have no vanity in me, cars or clothing. I just buy what I need to get me from point A to B.
Tim has a passion for his trucks. He does love his trucks.
DeleteOooh, Lordy yes, hard not to do the "told you so" dance for our Hubs' when we are right. No need to add insult to injury, as you said. It's funny, if someone else tells them they need to do something, they listen, and might even do it. If wives tell them, well, too easy to dismiss us as nagging. I cant' tell you how many times I've told my Hubs some things he's needed to do and didn't, in our 24 years of marriage, and have been right. Not that I am keeping score. (Ya, I am) We don't feed strays here any more, though there is a "neighborhood" cat that pops by for a snack now and then. We would do the same thing you're doing for Mangey.
ReplyDeleteI say what I think, and he does what he wants. It's his way. I suppose I'm not much different. We're stealing a cat, and I don't care what he says.
DeleteThe thing is, Debby, that you not only don't rub it in when Tim makes what we might call an error in judgement, you absolutely step in to help him deal with the ensuing problems. You are the kindest, most supportive of wives. I could learn a thing or two from you.
ReplyDeleteOh Mary. I can assure you that I am not. Of all the things that will make me mad about Tim, this is a biggie. He has a tractor that is a hard starter. He was told what part it needed when he bought it. He will spend an hour trying to start it rather than just going to buy the damn part. This rim situation has been going on since last summer. I get so mad at him. He knows it. It's just false economy to my thinking. I knew I would just be a bitch if I hung around. A good walk at a brisk pace solved that. By the time he came to pick me up, I had two blisters and I wasn't mad.
DeleteMangey is lucky to have you. (As is Tim!) I don't blame you for getting frustrated at the rim situation, but going for a brisk walk was a wise way to handle the problem!
ReplyDeleteI don't know about that luck, Steve. I really do try hard, but boy oh boy....
DeleteI always used to say I had a paperwork jinx because things always went wrong - exam results not arriving; getting a court judgement for bad debt without knowing for a bill I never knew about either; that kind of thing. I think you've got the jinx too.
ReplyDeleteWell, this was the exception to the rule. We will hope, anyway. The last thing we need is a jinx. We've had enough nonsense so far this year!
DeleteMy taller half insists on "shopping" online for months if not years for things we need (or would like to have) before making a decision. It drives me crazy and gets inconvenient. Apparently this sort of procrastination is all about fearing the regret he might feel if he makes the 'wrong' decision, i.e., doesn't get a fabulous deal. It's f'n ridiculous. Pfft. Men. SOME of them. -Kate
ReplyDeleteI imagine they have much the same conversations about us. I just don't understand why someone would spend $5000 on a tractor and then fight with it instead of buying the part it needs. Just doesn't make sense, any more than running the risk of running on a bad rim.
DeleteLast year our income taxes made 3 round trips between Spokane and Cincinnati arriving a month late. PO did not care, took weeks to put out a be on the lookout. We're in AZ for the winter, do you think they're actually forwarding our mail? Nope. We probably will miss voting in the primaries because of them. DeJoy is doing a great job.
ReplyDeleteWe NEED your vote in the primaries!!!!!!!! Yep. Things have certainly gone downhill in that regards.
Delete