Eons ago, when we started the kitchen/living room/dining room/computer room/family room/tv room re-do (this is all one small room in my really small house, but we have to make it sound good) there was a discussion about the floor plug-in to make lighting easier. After many movements, and measurements, a spot was chosen and marked with an X-on a lovely piece of paper. Up came the tile for the re-do and up came the paper.
On the second try, the floor was bare waiting for hardwood to be applied. The “X” was applied again, after great moves with furniture, and eyeballs, and a ruler. Down went the hardwood.
On the third try, the hardwood was safe and secure AND the finish had also been applied. Good, great even, all is well….. The “X” was searched for again, using the most high-tech info around….eyeballs, ruler, where a new kitchen cabinet was, and more eyeballing. Because of new appliances arriving, my wonderful contractor (and I am very serious) saw to it that good heavy paper was laid across the new hardwood floors and tile.
On the fourth try…..we measured with the plug-in in the wall and the eyeball thing. The plug-in is circular, brass, and beautiful. I no longer care if it is in the center of living….it is there. I no longer care if we have to throw a rug over it…it is there….probably for the 3 ft Christmas tree I purchased from Big Lots 5 years ago. Nevertheless….it is, or soon will be, there and installed. I know it will be perfect…..our measurements are precise!
Find one in your neighborhood…send your kids….time for you, time for them…new friends, new ideas, refreshed belief, smiles, God, Mother Nature, love… do it!-+
Most would say it is when you aren’t cook’in…..or better yet, you don’t even cook. But not here at my house. A kitchen used to be there, but now it is gone…no sink. no frig, no microwave, no cabinets, no faucet, no nothing. I kind of like it….makes me long for the restaurants just down the street.
However, I really didn’t go this drastic just to eat out….(I think, not sure) But anyhow, we are redoing the kitchen…..and it will take about a month total. It’s been a long time com’in, and now it is actually happening. I guess I’m here to say that it is fun……and the reason is……we don’t live there. We IS down the street in another home, WITH a kitchen. That does take away the pain and agony of trying to figure out if the electricity and/or water are on, and most importantly, does the john flush and can I make a cup of coffee! Those, my friends, are the major points of having a happy life…..toilet, toilet paper, coffee, cream/sugar, and the AM Wall Street Journal. There is no reason to continue further into the day if those aren’t around.
So rule #1….when doing extensive house renovation (and that includes anything that might disrupt the above….and include any dust), it is better to move away and let others take control of the mess.
The stuff is gone now, the dumpster was picked up….now the beam has been installed, and dry wall is being applied to ceilings as we speak. There are can lights going in and more plug-ins than are in a usual two-story home. Hubby wants plenty of plug-ins. (He loves to do the cooking since his retirement, therefore, it is only natural he design where he likes to cook) (He really did do a good job, except for some hanging lights he picked out….those were BAD)
So entering into the third week….things are going fine….(I don’t want to know if they aren’t) Kitty cat is happy in new digs…..and in our house, if the kitty is happy, everyone is happy. More later.
They are happening today in south Florida, and it’s fun. There aren’t too many places where one can watch it rain on one side of the street and be sunny on the other. Will enjoy this for the next few days. Thank you , mother nature.
You were so busy, running up and down the towing limbs of the oak outside my door. There was chirping and squeaking and even some ‘dirty words’ coming out of your little mouth. It seems my kitty was sunning on the porch and you were saying it was ‘yours’. Keep up the squawking…hide the acorns for the cold Florida winter….you bushy little squirrel!
You were so so comfortable. Your little almond eyes were closed and your breathing was peaceful. Your little triangular head was turned almost upside down, waiting for a chin rub, I’m sure. When I touched your back lightly, you began purring, but your eyes never opened. Wish I vould turn my ears around turn hear the sounds of the afternoon…..love you my kitty
I’ve been on a jury at least 4 times in my life….starting in Indianapolis, Ind when I was in my mid twenties….I’ll never forget what it was like and how I felt. A guy was on trial for burglary and attempted murder of a store owner. The owner had survived and was healing in the local hospital. The defendant had a long list of people who came forth to say he was nowhere near the scene….they included friends and family and former girlfriends and current girlfriends, etc. All of these people made statements under oath that were full of holes and none could keep their stories straight to even coincide with others. Still they needed to be heard. The defendant was found upstairs hiding in a closet, above the store, with the gun. The injured storekeeper was to testify, but suddenly the case finished and he was not there. A jury only can use the information it is given…..and so the judgement was guilty considering all the other information provided sans the poor man who was shot. (later, after we were excused, we found that the storekeeper had taken a turn for the worse, and was not allowed to come to court)….However, we did our job, and based upon what we heard and discussed he was found guilty. He did yell and scream and threaten us, but he was hauled off to prison anyhow.
I tell you this story, not because it was totally exciting or because everyone got a star, but because we were asked to be part of a jury in a democratic society that says you are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. We all know that it doesn’t work perfectly….but being a juror does make it work compared to courts in other countries. Think of the girl who disappeared in the islands….think of the two going to court for murder in Italy…. then think of our jury system. Yes, it is tedious. Yes it takes away a few days from our wonderful jobs. Yes, we’d sometimes rather be doing something else, BUT THAT IS ALL BESIDE THE POINT!!
A juror is part of freedom…..a juror is an honorable way of being free. A juror is part of a fair and unbiased search for the right for people who have been wronged….on either side of the table in front of the judge. I am appalled at the excuses and statements I hear from those who receive the call for jury duty. (We’ll talk excuses later) Why do people creep away and hide with all kinds of excuses, when they look in the mirror every day and acclaim what fine upstanding citizens they are. They are the first to discuss right and wrong, politically miss-managed funds and departments, the lack of morals or being honorable in daily business people they deal with, and the way the ‘world is going’ because of unscrupulous people. BUT….when the call comes……they almost become the people they are asked to be a jury for. They are too old, they can’t get the bus, they work nights, they have a cold, they dislike anyone of color, they have a family member who influences them, and on and on. What a pity…….
And the courts have to listen to this every day….the courts, the servants whose job it is to give anyone a fair trial….continually have to endure these types every day. When did ‘responsible’ become such a dirty word? When did ‘slinking’ out the door after lying to the judge become such an honorable thing to do? I am appalled and amazed at the statements I have heard when some says they received a call for jury.
The courts have always treated us graciously….In California it is one day or one trial. You don’t even have to go to the court house unless your group number is called, and you can stay at home and check, every morning and evening. There are nice rooms to wait in, there are TVs and books and games, and food. You are given at least an hour and maybe two for lunch and have breaks. One is treated with great respect as a possible juror, not to mention in the court room. The judge is gracious, he/she explains fully the trial time and dates and length. Valid excuses are readily accepted and there is always a ‘thank you’.
When in court, you are the ‘chosen’…you are there to listen, to reason, to understand, to take notes, to ask questions of the judge, and to deliberate as a unit of fairness. There is no one more ‘looked up to’ than you, the jury.And still prospective jurors scoff .
Now we’ll discuss excuses……real ones……and some we have no control over….1. My job gives me a rough time…..what a shame, but true. Employers need to be fined for messing with their employees when it comes to jury duty. Pay is full, for as long as it takes, period.
2. The state doesn’t pay enough for me to leave work…..true…and that needs to be addressed….maybe by combining work and state payments.
3. No one else can do the job but me……I wish, but it ain’t true. I once sat by a fellow juror who mathematically helped plans fly full of baggage, people, and fuel, each and every flight. Someone did his job, when he was gone…(and I thought that was dang important)
4. I have a problem with people of color……GET OVER IT! and learn that right is right and wrong is wrong regardless of color. You might learn a lot from our fellow jurors on that!
Now school finals, and working each and every night can be valid, but don’t plan your vacation during your jury duty…..just to get out of it. AND, if you do have valid reasons, they court will be more than happy to give you another date that works for you!
So, in closing this soapbox one-sided discussion, I repeat, with all honesty. I have never felt more proud than to serve as a juror….to give the guy who is in the right, a reward for being right, and to serve a dose of “guilty’ to the person who wronged him. Maybe it doesn’t make everything perfect again, but it is the way Americans try to do what is right, each and every day, in court rooms all over this land.
My lovely sister and her adult daughter have been badly mis-treated by their former husband/father. Their lives have been tortured and torn, but they are making their way back to healthy living. Daughter now has a wonderful job and lives at home with mom, now that she has a serious romance in Canada. Together they work long hours but together they keep the house lovely, and the horses and pets happy. The divorce was over last April..signed off by the judge, who leaves a lot to be desired as judges go, however that’s another story.
The ex’s attorney sees to it that she continues to make $300 an hour from him and forces my sis’s attorney to spend $300 an hour because of her. If you are not sure about this….it goes this way. Ex’s attorney writes letters asking for meaningless numbers which forces sis’s attorney to respond, stating it is meaningless. See how the dollars work…..
There is nothing left to do but to sell one or both of the two corrals and split the profit. Ex husband has things to pick up that are his, but he doesn’t, even tho the judge ordered him to, and that causes one corral to look kind of bad. To try to force him to pick stuff up will only cost more $300 an hour letters, so it is well left alone. Sister has the horses which she has had and cared for herself for more than 20 years. Remember I say ‘herself’….she would like one of the corrals to continue keeping her horses in, as they are in their late 2o’s and she had them all these years.
The corral problem continues to drag on because ex refuses to talk to her or to take either one of the corrals and be done with it. As you can see the $300 an hour can go on forever at this speed. His only desire is to make her life miserable, in absentia. And so it continues.
Also, if there is an offer on one or both of the corrals, he has to accept it….or no deal. More $300 an hour letters. She has offered him choice property and wants to be done with it…….the jerk continues to be a jerk. I keep thinking he couldn’t be more of a jerk, but he can.
Divorce is hard enough without a jerk being a real jerk. It’s time for ex Mr. Harward to be less of a jerk, call it a day, take his half and quit spending $300 an hour. (I think 1 1/2 years is enough for any jerk to be a jerk to his family) Let him be a jerk to someone else…..oh right, there no one else in his life to be a jerk to!
You were romping on the beach, with your master, smelling all shells, and the newly beached egg sacs from the marine life in the gulf. Ah, but when it came to the water, you wanted your dainty paws dry. The wind pushed your hair and ears back, just like you were in the front seat of the car. Oh were you hav’in fun……God’s creatures just enjoying the beach.
You are so cute…..your little blond curls bouncing in the sunlight….Yes, you are a little guy, but at 1 1/2, who cares about a few curls. You bounce when you walk, and have a short high pitched outburst, when you don’t get your way…you are bright and healthy and have lived thru some unpleasant times in your short life….still, you are sound in heart and soul and things will be just fine. I saw you today……
seriouslyscorpio 