Almost May

I was looking for a car part on line. I went to two or three web sites, but when I typed in the car make. Model and year and the part I was looking for, each time it came up as no parts available. 

In the middle of it, my phone rang. It came up as 'potential spam'. I did not answer the call. It was immediately followed by another phone call listed 'verified caller. Wyoming' 

I am a curious woman. I figured that the two calls had to be related. They were different numbers, but from the same 307 area code. So I answered it.

An unmistakably Indian accent said, 'are you looking for a passenger side fender for a 2008 Lincoln MKZ?'

(Side note: I was not driving the car. Actually, nobody was driving it. It was parked and quietly minding its own business when it was hit.)

Cautiously, I said 'Yesss...' while wondering how those searches were visible to him. 

"What color?" he asked. 

"Silver."

He said, almost instantly, "I can get you one for $146."

I said "I don't even know who you are."

He said, "My name is Lucas Anderson."

"Not to be rude, but I received two phone call within two minutes of each other. I don't know who you are, or how you figured out what I was looking for. Also, your accent is not a Wyoming accent. I am not comfortable handing out my credit card information under these circumstances."

He earnestly began to explain why I should trust him.

Unconvinced, I hung up.

Don't know if I am paranoid and missed out on a good deal, or whether I dodged a bullet. 

I was surprised to hear to receive a bulletin on my phone that a woman and baby down the road are missing, considered endangered. I do not know her, but it is something that grabbed my attention. I don"t know the back story but am hoping for a happy ending.

Other than that, it was a quiet day. I received a call from the office staff to see if I got home okay last night. They also had a cancelation and asked if I wanted the appointment. 

Less lead in time = less stress.

I said yes. I can hand deliver the thank you card and the gas card to them. 

May is a busy month. My daughter and son in law's wedding reception. My youngest daughter is coming stateside for it.  My son and his family will be here. We have a trip at the end of it. It was a lucky break to get that earlier appointment. 

The Governor of Louisiana called off the elections in his state until the maps can be redrawn to eliminate black majority areas. I mean they are not even hiding what they are up to. 

The White House posted a picture of trump and the King labeling it 'Two Kings'. 

The Republicans posted a picture of the King wearing a MAGA hat.

Mike Johnson denies we're at war.

The GOP voted today to end the government shut down without their exorbitant ICE funding demands. 

One positive sign at least. The rest of it is insane.

Frost warning tonight. Ugh.

Let's end with a laugh.

I cannot even...

I had an appointment today that i was heartily dreading. It was at 1, about an hours drive.

I was so anxious about it that I was wide awake at 4 am. I tried to fall back asleep, but I was so filled with 'fret' that it was not going to happen for me. I finally just got up and made my coffee and grabbed a package of BelVitas. I sat in the dark drinking coffee and reading blogs. 

It helped. 

A little. 

Tim got up. He had a bunch of stuff on his agenda, so I was on my own. 

I tried to comfort myself by going on a tear around the house. Scrubbed the bathroom, folded laundry, vacuumed, unloaded the dishwasher, tended to plants, cleaned the cat box, stuff like that. I made up my mind to leave at 11:30. I needed gas, and I was waiting to get it in Titusville. It is usually 20 cents  gallon cheaper and it was on the way, so it made sense.

So very methodically I set about getting set to go.

Shower (check)

Dress with great care (check)

Make up (check)

Hair (check)

(Did you ever notice that ticking boxes is a great distraction from thinking about things you'd druther not think about?)

Teeth (check)

Shoes (check)

Purse (check)

Raincoat (check)

Phone for directions since I did not know the area

(Check)

Full charge (Check)

Resolutely, I headed out the door and got myself on the road. When I got to Titusville, I was surprised to see that gas had gone up 20 cents over night. I decided to see what it was priced at on the way.

I had absolutely no idea how much I was going to regret this. The first thing I discovered is that there were no gas stations on my way.

Not to worry though. I knew I had enough gas to get me where I was going. I also knew that there were plenty of gas stations there. No worries. So I made my way through the heavy rain, trying to enjoy the Amish countryside.

I was on 'E' when I pulled into town. I had planned well enough that I had plenty of time for a fill up. I pulled into the first station I came to. I grabbed my wallet and it was then that I began to stress big time. My debit card was not in my wallet. I knew instantly where it was: at home on the table. I had been trying to renew the car registration on line. It would not accept our the card we use for online. I thought try my debit card. That did not work either. I brought the computer out to Tim to see if he could figure out where I was messing up. After trying it, he said, 'Never mind. I will just do it in person at the DMV. 

So much for convenience!

I logged off the website AND I NEVER WENT BACK TO GET MY DEBIT CARD! Now I was an hour from home, driving on E, and I still had my appointment. I was just sick. I got to where I was going, tried to call Tim from the parking lot. 

Did he answer his phone? No he did not.

Was his voice mail full? Yes it was.

There was nothing to do but walk into that appointment. I explained what I had done. She assured me it was fine. They took credit cards over the phone, so when I managed to get hold of Tim, I would be all set. She was so easy going about it. I was a little dumbfounded. 

Long story short. I survived my appointment. In the billing office. I did manage to get ahold of Tim. He read me the card information and I handed it to the billing person. I then began to explain about my gas situation. Did he know where a bank branch was? I had all my ID. 

 

The clerk interrupted. 'Don't worry about that. We got you a $20 gas card from the station across the street.'

I was flabbergasted. Tim was trying to talk and I was staring at the clerk, and I am embarrassed to say that after the whole stress filled day. I actually got teary. 

'Oh gees. You don't have to do that...'

She laughed. 'You have paid us enough that we can afford a gas card!' 

True, but...

In the end, I got home frazzled, but in one piece. Grateful, too.

 In all the hubbub I had skipped lunch. I knew I would be late getting back, so I had planned an easy supper. I split a loaf of Italian bread while sautéing onions, peppers, mushrooms, and some of the good sausage we made with Levi and Mattie and the kids. I spread the bread with spaghetti sauce, topped it with the meat and vegetables and sprinkled it with mozzarella cheese. 

Our pizzas were just coming out of the oven when Tim walked in the door from his day. 'Smells good! I didn't eat lunch today! I am starving.' 

So we sat down and ate.

All's well that ends well.

What do you think?

Tonight was Tim's final birthday hurrah. The man loves Journey. We have seen them twice and enjoyed both shows. I mean what's not to love. Familiar songs, songs that we know all the words to, songs from our youth. 

Of course, that was many moons ago. Steve Perry doesn't play with the group. In fact, only one original band member is still with the group that tours under the Journey name, which has always made me wonder at what point does a band actually become its own tribute band? But, as I said, we enjoyed both concerts. The new lead singer does a good job.

Compare this to the original Journey with Steve Perry. (Enjoy the 80s)

Well tonight we went to the Titusville Ironworks to see what is billed as the number one Journey tribute band, E5c4p3. We enjoyed the show. It was interesting to talk to another couple who have been to see the band 4 times. The woman said that the band actually has followers who follow them from venue to venue. She says after awhile they begin to recognize each other. Like I said. Interesting. 

Anyways, for comparison: the lead singer was very good. So the question begs an answer: which provides the more authentic experience? The 'actual' Journey with its one original band member, everyone else replaced or a tribute band with a good lead singer and a studied, polished band? 

I dunno. 

This made me think of Mr Shife right away

Quiet day

Today is Tim's birthday. It was a quiet day. We went to the gym. I work out for one hour. He works out for 30 minutes. He ducked out to buy his birthdsy present. He wanted a retractable air hose for his big air compressor in his garage, and then swung back to pick me up.

On the way home we stopped at the grocery store for strawberries and heavy whipping cream. He wanted strawberry shortcake for his birthday. Easy enough. His supper of choice was a simple one too. He loves mashed potatoes and hamburger gravy. He does love mashed potatoes. 

It is hard to believe we are both turning 69. 60 was a shock, and now a mere eyeblink later, we are looking at 70.  Just seems so strange. 70 is old! We aren't old!

An acquaintance posted a video of John Fettermen singing 47's praises on this Iran debacle. Another acquaintance responded with a reference to cults. They are two 80 yesr old white headed, bearded gentleman, both veterans. Both men of strong convictions. The poster blasted back with he 'was not raised to bash people on social media'. 

I smiled to that. Social media didn't exist 'til both of them were full grown men. My fingers itched a little because he unfriended me years back after I let him have it for calling Hillary Clinton a c*nt. He sent me a friend request years later, claiming I had unfriended him.

I scrolled on and left the two of them going at it.

We spent a quiet night not watching the news. 

Saturday

It is Saturday.

We protested. Gorgeous day, windy, which made the signs a bit of a challenge. 

Two of our tenants were there. I thought it was interesting that they simply stood on the corner making eye contact and waving with broad smiles. What was interesting is that when two women in their 70s are waving directly at people, no matter what their political leanings were, after some hesitation, generally, there was a small tentative wave back, one that used all their fingers.

We haven't had counter protesters lately. We have a small handful of people who cross over to stand with them, talking in a friendly way while waving their signs. The counter protesters kept trying to back away, but the friendly protesters followed them, smiling, talking, and waving their signs. Eventually, they left. They never have returned.

We made new signs.

 There is a big hulking young man who stands quietly in the back in solidarity. Somebody handed a sign to him and he came up front to stand with us. He seemed pleased to be there too. 

There was a lot of honking. I love the elderly people who quietly wave and smile at us. One fellow told us he was proud of us. Yeah. We get a few fingers and some shouts of 'go home!' Or 'Trump, Trump!' But that part of things seems to almost be dying down. 

We always hear him long before he gets to us. Today, air horn man was about ten minutes early. He came into town blaring his horns. A ripple went through our group. 'Here he comes! Here he comes!' Indeed he was, following a tanker truck. This time was different though. He caught the red light. We had a chance to demonstrate our thanks. We cheered and waved. In return he blared his horns. He tooted the old 'shave and a haircut' and around the corner, another horn answered with the obligatory 'two bits!' We all laughed.

A good day. 

We grabbed a burger and ran into people I used to work with, and had a good visit. 

We stopped off at a thrift store to make a donation from all that stuff that was mysteriously stuffed into the spare bedroom while I was gone. (Grrrrr!) I ran into a girl I went to school with. More jawjacking. I also got two beautiful blouses and a snuggly sweater for a quarter apiece. 

We stopped to check out Albert's garage sale on the way home. I could not believe my eyes to see a folding Rubbermaid two step ladder. Just that very morning I h Asaaddecided I needed something to reach the top shelves in the bathroom and the kitchen. $7.50 brought that home. $5.00 more brought a window fan home too.

So...it was a people-y sort of day, but a good one.

My blister is doing great. I soak my foot in the evening...

...and put a blister pad on it. Those things are miracle. 

That was Saturday.

Today kinda sucked.

 We went to the gym this morning and I did my 3 miles. I also did this:

It is the biggest blister I have ever given myself. Tim said, "why didn't you stop?" Short answer: I felt the blister on my big toe. I did not realize the rest of it until I took my shoe and sock off.

(I was walking, but you get the idea.)

So I am gimping around. I soaked my foot in hot water with Epsom salts. I put a blister dressing on it. It is pretty painful though.

Today was another one of those storm days. We were under tornado watch for a time, with those eerie strange skies.

Since I was confined to house, I tried to use my time wisely. We pay the water and sewage bills on our rentals. As the property owners, if the tenant defaults on the bill, we are responsible. We decided early on that it is easier to pay those bills monthly ourselves than inheriting a delinquent account, especially since it reflects negatively on our credit. 

A $12.99 charge has been added to this account. The original phone call happened in November. Here we were 5 months later still trying to get it resolved. When I called about it 6 weeks ago, I was told that there was no record of the initial call. I went all through it again. Ultimately, I was told that I would be credited for that amount. Yet two bills later, that billing was still there. It was showing as past due, highlighted in red, all caps warning with exclamation points.

The first phone call was very frustrating. A man just kept telling me that he had the transcripts of that conversation. Except what he was telling me was said wasn't what was said. I insisted I did not owe the $12.99. He insisted I did. When he said "is there anything else I can help you with?" I kept my rude remarks to myself and simply said to note my account that the charge was being disputed and I would not pay it.

Meanwhile, Tim was rooting through the old records. He found the information that proved our side of the conversation. So, taking a deep breath, I called back. Once again, I began the whole story. She interrupted me to say that I was calling the wrong customer service, that I needed to be speaking to another department. 

Sensing a brush off, I pointed out that I had already called this number and the previous person claimed to be reading the transcript of the conversation. She flatly said he wasn't. He had no access to them. 

!!!!

I called the number she gave me, braced for round three. Imagine my surprise to be told that my account was current, that the $12.99 had been refunded. I was told not to pay it, that it would eventually drop from the billing. 

!!!!!!!

The rest of the day was spent being very angry at my husband. While I was away, the man brought a bunch of stuff from the old house and stuffed it into the spare bedroom. It required going through. I pointed out that we had an agreement that we were not bringing a bunch of shit to the new house and stuffing it in the attic. We would sort it at the old house and make the decisions about what came and what didn't come here. The new house is just too small for all that clutter. Once the sorting was done, we could move the necessary things into the attic, sorted and organized. 

He listed to my frustration and got a stubborn tilt to his jaw. "You were not here!" he shouted

"Then wait until I AM!!!!" I yelled right back.

So I spent the evening going through that stuff , pulling everything out of the bedroom one box at a time. Old tax paperwork was organized by year. 3 years no longer needed and tossed. I kept showing stuff to Tim. He kept saying, "That's nothing, throw it away," which only irked me more, because there was no need to stuff all that shit into the spare bedroom. It literally proved my point.

I am pretty sure Tim and I have an understanding now. 

Back

 I am back from my little trip. It was a wonderful little getaway. There was a picnic in the park. A dance competition, followed by a dad grilled meal on the back patio. Dad and Mom got a date night. The girls and I used 'little eyes' to see the teeny tiniest wild flowers that are all around us. We planted terrariums in little 5 inch tall jars I brought with me. I introduced them to the Ramona series my kids watched on PBS when they were younger. When the oldest was at school on Monday and my son was at work, we were able to give mom a morning off. The youngest and I spent the morning playing. It is a wonder to watch her. She played independently for the entire morning. All that was required from me was to 'neeeeeeigh' at the appropriate times when she needed her 'oonyhorn' to speak.

So it was an ordinary stretch of time filled with quiet joys, an it could not have been more perfect.

Tuesday saw me headed home. I started out just as soon as the oldest was on the bus. Mama needed to drop the youngest off at preschool. I needed to get my hiney home asap. I needed to be at the lawyer's office to sign important papers. So it was the 5 hour trip. The car was unloaded. We hopped back in and headed to Warren.  It just made for a loooong day. 

While I was gone, Tim bought a car. Wednesday morning, we got up and headed out to pick that up. It is pretty, black metallic paint, so it sparkles. It is a hybrid, completely new technology to us. Tim drove it while I worked out the computer system. It has Sirius Satellite radio. Not sure how long that goody will last. It is quite the fanciest car we have ever owned. He is pleased with himself.

So that is the recap of life in my corner of the world. 

Outside of my bubble, Orban lost the election in Hungary after a 16 year dictatorship. Jd Vance even went there to campaign for him. Why? Well...there's this:

New Hungarian PM says Orban government was using taxpayer money to fund US pro-Trump activist group CPAC | LBC https://www.lbc.co.uk/article/new-hungarian-pm-says-orban-government-was-using-taxpayer-money-to-fund-us-pro-t-5HjdXp8_2/

I am sure that this is a coincidence though.

Trump's messianic visions have taken front stage. He's blasting the pope at this point. Posting AI of him as Jesus. Him with Jesus. MAGA is talking about blasphemy. Such a shock, isn't it? They were completely okay with his blasphemy until he began to mock their God. 

Let's just stop right there.