No Sharks

Going north in a few weeks to visit family.

I have a sister I haven't seen in too many years to count who lives out west.

She has 3 children that I barely know. She is coming with her youngest. 

I am really looking forward to seeing her.

I will be arriving a few days prior to her arrival to sneak into town to see friends. Once my family gets a hold of me I can't usually break free to see others. Because I stay at a hotel they will be none the wiser I hope. Small town you know.

I have a day planned with my sister Jennifer, my friends Katie and Laura to go to the beach. (my sister will never tell.)

This should be a day of bitching, laughing, drinking and cussing, 'cause that's what we do when we get together. With all the rain we've been having I need an ark, not sunscreen. 
I am hoping to get a full blown sun burn at this point for some semblance of color.
This video was something I saw on facebook about the beach being shark free in my hometown. 

Rick is going to be manning the office and that should prove detrimental to our business. 
He won't be nice if they are  rude. He will say what he wants to say vs. me saying what needs to be said and not what I would like to say. This falls under the category of what he doesn't understand, like bed making and dieting. I have shown this man hospital corners for over 28 yrs and he still can't do it. He can build the friggin' bed from near nothing, but make the bed? Not on your life. And dieting? He has never lasted more than 2 days - ever. And he has this type of logic, "oh it's only 1 piece of cake and it's small, it won't hurt"   No, this man can not diet.
Rick could never survive being female. With the dieting, the heels, the pain, the multi tasking he could never do and the attention to detail. All things a woman does to look nice it is all so out of his realm of comfortable. He loves women in heels and those that care for themselves, he will notice that and comment on that, but heaven forbid he is not comfortable. So no, it's a good thing he's 100% male. If he were female he would bring mu-mu's back in style because to him that would be comfort and heaven knows this man is all about his comfort as he asks for another piece of cake.

Signs Everywhere There's Signs

Here are some photos to go along with my tales.

This one is so accurate to what I do all day that it made me laugh.

My first experience to share happened on Thursday just before 5pm.

I had a woman named Jennifer who was inquiring about 2 bathrooms and what needed done in each.

I gave her a quote and she literally whined like a cartoon. I can't even begin to tell you how that threw me at first. Am I speaking to a 3 year old toddler or is this a real grown up woman?

Then she proceeded to tell and ask me the following:

"If I get work done in 2 bathrooms will the 2nd bathroom be 1/2 off? I'm trying to have a baby and IVF is so expensive you know.

Here is what I wanted to say – f-off. If you can’t afford 2 bathrooms perhaps only do one or one at a time. When you go to McDonalds and you get 2 burgers do you think they will give you a discount because you are having a baby? Do you think the 2^nd burger is free or 50% off.

I don’t give a rats ass if you are a baby maker. This is the price.

What I really said – Yes, I understand IVF is expensive but you can do these at different times if you’d like. The price is your price and will not go up after your estimate.  Doing 2 bathrooms isn’t less work in any way so the price will remain the same.

She said, “Well isn’t this company only 1 man?”

Now I’m pissed. WTF does that matter in this scenario even if it still was?

I said, ‘No there are 3 men.  (2 full time + 1 part timer numb nut which i do not share with her)

The price is the price Jennifer, I’m sorry.  We do not discount the quality of our work nor the price. If we discount the price what steps would you like us to eliminate? Adhesion?

She laughs and says, “No of course not. But could you ask your boss.”

Sure, I said to get her the hell off the phone.

I spoke to her the following morning. You know after I asked MY BOSS.
"Jennifer, the price is the same as I quoted yesterday, I tell her .
 (I told Rick the story knowing full well that there would be no discount and her comments would anger him)

“Okay, she whines,  I will just book one at a time then.”

I booked it and wondered how many other places she goes telling her tale of woe is me I can't have a baby. I bet there are a lot of women who have this issue and have this pain. But they don't wear it like a badge of honor. Some people sure do like to be a victim I think.

I really don't understand this question. The price of the chemicals and products used is the same for each bathroom, it isn't  less usage because it is 2 bathrooms. The cost of payroll, gas, insurances, etc is all the same it doesn't go down because we are doing 2 bathrooms. I don't get how people think it would be less. Oh well. In this rich area where the average household income is six figures you get a lot of cheap bastards. It's the folks who make far less money in near by counties that never ever ask these questions. 

I know more than I could ever care to know about her fertility woes. Who does that? I don't believe I have ever over shared except here on my blog. My contractors don't know my problems. Then it occurred to me that she's hormonal from the IVF and all those hormone shots and that hopefully explains the whining. God, I hope so anyway.

Rick went to a home a few weeks ago. The man just got back from Afghanistan and met Rick at the door.  He was missing a leg and still didn't have his permanent prosthesis. He sat on the toilet for awhile talking to Rick. Rick asked a lot of questions about the war. Rick said they had a nice conversation and he had a great dog. (it's always about the dog with Rick).

When it was over Rick gave him a military discount to thank him for his service.  

He didn’t ask for one, he didn’t ask for anything. That is why he got it. He was genuinely surprised and thanked him. 

 That's another issue around these parts. Every call asks for a military discount. They aren't in the military but ask anyway. One guy asked for a military discount driving a Mercedes in a 2 million dollar home in Loudoun county. You just know he wasn't military at age 32 with all these accoutrements. He was dressed in a nice suit so not behaving or looking like the military Rick asked what he did in the military. He said, "Oh my father was in the service, not me"    No, buddy you don't get a discount.

Now that I'm a senior this isn't as funny I guess . But you know I never ask for a senior discount. I was told at the grocery store the other day that at age 60 you get 10% off your bill on Tuesdays. I had a 60th birthday card in with my groceries so I guess they assumed I too was 60. 
Thankfully not yet. But who shops on Tuesday? Would I go for my 10%. Doubtful, but possible.
I have never even used my AARP for a discount. If you book travel or hotels it isn't any cheaper with that card. At least I haven't found it to be. I looked for our trip to Florida and our room was a whooping $1 less. Wow I can get that new kidney now. Not worth it.  I applied for dental insurance through AARP, it was the same with or without AARP involved. I don't see any benefits. I don't eat dinner at 4 so no early bird specials for me just yet either. 

This sign is just 'cause I find it funny and I agree.

Happy Independence Day!

Enjoy your holiday blogger buddies.

Pictures

I came across a photo of my mom the other day while remodeling a 3rd bedroom. 

It was taken in 1968. It was near the end of her cancer journey.

I laugh at all the pictures I would take of her while she was sick with my Kodak Instamatic.

Remember those cameras?

I think somewhere deep inside I knew she was dying and I wanted pictures of her.
Some really unflattering photos. I didn't take many before she was sick but I don't recall thinking at age 10-13 to take pictures of mom before she dies. She was sick for 3 years. Not a single photo of my father, just my mom. Odd don't you think?

I remember taking this one I just saw because she yelled at me. She looked terrible she said. 
If I am being honest, she does. As I have mentioned here before in my stories of my mom she had a nurse come towards the end every afternoon to give her a shot. The shot I later learned as an adult was morphine. She would get tired and she would lay on the sofa. I would normally sit with her and she would put her head in my lap and we'd watch her soap operas. Another World or Days of Our Lives. Back in those days watching with your mom was okay because they weren't all sexed up as they are today. Shirts and skirts were left on.

After the soaps Mom would get up and begin her routine of dinner prep and all that entailed before Dad came home. She never was on that sofa for more than an hour after the shot most days.  I find it crazy today to think how sick she was but she never stopping being this obsessed housewife. Perhaps that gave her the strength to get up each day and go one. I don't know.

I'm not going to post the photo because if she were alive she'd kill me. I still feel that. She was at the stove, her hair a mess like she just woke up, the one side flat the other up and she looked as ill as she was. Her face had dark circles under her eyes and honestly it just doesn't look like her. But for some reason I remember the need to take her picture. I did that all the time. I guess I knew deep down.

Yesterday for some reason I couldn't get she or my cousin Bobby out of my head. I kept thinking about them both all day. I mentioned to Rick as we were having dinner that I think I'm going to call Bob because he keeps popping in my head. But after dinner a friend stopped by and then it was too late to call anyone civilized.

This morning I awoke to find out that my cousin Bobby's partner of over 25 years had a massive heart attack and died. I so adore Bobby. Since I was a little girl he was my best buddy. My heart aches for him right now. I spoke to Bobby's daughter and she told me that he was numb. They had plans to go out today to deal with funeral arrangements and all that entails. His partner was a wonderful sweet lovely man. I can't say enough wonderful things about him. This breaks my heart. My Bobby is the bald man on the right. This is from our cousins reunion this past October.

I am going to go hug my Big Guy and my dog now.

Canada Day and Air Conditioning.

To all my Canadian Readers - HAPPY CANADA DAY!!!

I too am celebrating - I have air conditioning!!  I want to make it so cold in here my nipples are erect. 
They arrived at 7:30a this morning and got it done.  YIPEE.
I had canceled the numbnuts that said they'd be here Thursday between 3-6p

The man who arrived was so very nice and neat and polite.
He did charge me more than my warranty deductible of $75. 
I told him that is not how this works. But his English wasn't great and since it was only another $125 I just paid it.  I then called the home warranty service and I will be reimbursed. 
At this point, I'd have paid anything to be cool. It was close to 90 in here. The back wall of windows in my first floor living area is only pretty if you aren't hot. I had the awning down. I closed drapes. I tried everything. Nothing really worked. 

My dog was panting like crazy yesterday. I felt so badly for her. 
Rick came home from work and downed a cold beer and took a shower.
Then he took Izzy swimming. By the time they got back home, I had made them both something for dinner.
Cool food for Rick. I made BLT's for him. Thankfully he loves them. Izzy ate and laid down and fell asleep until the heat woke her again. But the swimming really helped her. This morning I took her to Doggy Day Care to cool off and play. She is such a spoiled diva. When she gets home it will be cool and life will be normal again. 

Around midnight, Rick was tossing and turning and it was keeping me awake. Finally  I said, "Turn it on. If it doesn't make the noise and we don't smell smoke - we'll be either fine/cool or dead"  He laughed and went downstairs and turned on the air. It made noise for a few minutes and stopped. It ran forever, but it  only cooled us all down a little bit by the time we woke up. Izzy and Rick finally fell asleep but not for long. Peg, not so much at all.  It was still hot and now that it has been repaired we know why. It just wasn't working well in all aspects.

But who cares that I'm tired today. It's cold in here. I am happy, happy, happy!

Fun, Fun, Fun

Last night as Rick and I were sitting on the patio on our sofa we kept hearing a drip, drip, drip sound. It was directly across from us and we both saw it at the same time.
We looked up and on the 2nd-floor roof we saw water dripping onto the shingles.

Rick didn't say anything and just ran like a bat out of hell. Izzy followed.
 I figured I'd better see what was causing this fire under their butts so I too went up to the 3rd floor. Rick had opened the double doors in the TV room where our furnace and hot water tank are located. In the furnace pan was water and when it became full it went out this pipe that went out the wall to the outside of the house. Not good. But it could be worse and go downstairs to the 2nd floor over my desk in my office.

So Rick called the home warranty company and got someone to come out here on Wednesday. We can't seem to get them to give us an exact time except to say this Wednesday.  
This was all on Monday evening after dinner.

This morning I smell something burning. I am on the phone with a customer so I can't really look around seriously.  As soon as I hang up I begin to hear this horrific rattling in the walls on the first floor. I run downstairs and really hear this rattling as well as the strong smell of something burning.  That scares the shit out of me so I turn off my A/C.
It's only 90 with high humidity who needs air. I am spoiled. I need air. I prefer air over heat. 

So I call the home warranty company again. This time I tell them that it's my air conditioner.
They give me a company to call. I call and they tell me they can be here by Friday. Oh no, that isn't going to work. I ask the home warranty company for someone else. They tell me the company coming out for the furnace says they can do the A/C too, but they still aren't sure of when on Wednesday. 

Honest to God if we ran our company this way we'd have no business. What the hell are they doing that they don't have a time to give me? Even a window of time, a friggin' idea if it really will be Wednesday. Then this company says, gee it sounds like it's all one unit isn't it? 
No, it isn't one unit as far as I can tell. The woman insists it is. she asked me where my furnace is. I tell her the 3rd floor. She asks where my A/C unit is, I tell her outside on my patio. Oh, well it's one unit. Could you hear me scream from frustration?
I asked the woman if she could explain that to me because I don't understand. It can be one unit but still look as though it's 2? Seriously I am asking because I want and should know this.
When I asked her she just said NO.
Again, not wanting to bitch and not get any service at all I just say, "Okay then" She moves on like it's all normal to say that to someone.

I tell the home warranty company that I would prefer someone to deal with the furnace and someone to deal with the A/C.  Give me an AC company, please. She gives me another company. They will be here tomorrow between 7 am - 11 am. I imagine I'll see them by 3 pm
You know how that goes.

Now I know why all our customers are so surprised to see us show up on time. No windows of time. We say 9 am, we are there no later than 9 am.  We say 2 pm, if the men are even thinking they could be 5 minutes late they call. Seldom are we late. Our time is very important to us and so is the customers so starting off making them wait for you is unacceptable. 
One man said to me today, well traffic here is a nightmare. Yes, one must teach your scheduler how to factor that in. But I said nothing and bit my tongue so he would show up.

Miss Izzy and I are sweating like crazy. She is panting. I am just miserable. 
I work on the 2nd floor so heat does like to rise as you know, so I am just ever so happy.
Izzy is lying on the hardwood floors downstairs which are over concrete so the floor is the coolest place to be.
She keeps moving to her spot in front of the a/c vent and then looks at me as if to say, "hey nothing is coming out"

The house is 15 yrs old. That is about the lifespan I suppose.
I'll see you all after I literally cool off.
I'm sure this will be a lot of fun the next few days.
A hotel may be in my future.

Spoiler Alert.

Last night was the series finale of Nurse Jackie.
I have watched all episodes over the years.
The last scene I looked over at Rick and said, "What the hell?"

He and I were not happy with this ending. Either have her die or not have her die.
Why do all these shows think they are so clever leaving everything hanging?
It's not clever, it sucks. (think Soprano's ending)
You had great writing and story telling all these years and then you just think so little of the audience that you leave us hanging. 

When MASH ended we all saw them leave and hoped they got home safely to their families you heard so much about over the course of the years.
It was an ending. 

This was like we should have part 2 of the story, but we think we're just too high brow to do that for you. Aren't we clever TV writers?
You, the audience just figure it out - we want you to write the ending for yourself.

Okay then I will write the ending..... this sociopath, selfish addict dies. Her family is all in town for her daughters confirmation and all will arrive instead at the church for a funeral. You ruined a great career, messed up your daughters, ruined friendships, and lost a  wonderful husband all for chasing the high. 

See? That was easy wasn't it? An ending.
But instead we see her co-workers trying to save her life, her eyes open, but then close. 
Does she live? 
Does she again go to rehab and have another successful stint as a top notch nurse at the new hospital?
Is she given more chances again to continue to abuse drugs and mess up her family?

But hey, look on the bright side. It's a heterosexual family - and according to the "right" that makes the family so much better even with the drugs, infidelity, the lying, the stealing and the cheating. 

What a week.

I'm more busy that ever before and I have been neglectful to my blog.
However, I couldn't let the fact that all people can get married go without a big WHOO - OOOH!!
About damn time!

I never understood why it bothered so many. Love is love. 
It doesn't affect my life or marriage in any way what so ever and I don't believe it affects others. I can't wrap my head around those that want to stop me from doing anything I want with my body or who I love. You don't like it, don't do it. Teach your kids the same. If what I do causes others harm, you know like wielding a machete at their heads or shooting up a church of good people, then we have an issue. 

As for the confederate flag, well I've had a beef since I was young on this topic.
I went kicking and screaming when we moved to Northern VA because I thought I would be dealing with all that "crap" but thankfully we didn't have to. Once while driving down to the Shenandoah mountains we were so hungry but the only place we could see was a place that hung their confederate flag outside their door. We decided we weren't hungry enough to give those folks our money. So we waited until we got home.

So we've had some good news and some awful news this past few weeks.

I am going to end on an overdose of cuteness that doesn't care the color of your skin or who you love.

How did we live without these?

I bought my husband a pair of wireless headphones and he won't take them off.

You see when he works on countertops in his "shop" he normally has ear buds attached to his phone to listen to music while he works. One day as I walked out there to tell him something I saw him put down his router and turn to walk to reach for another tool and he forgot he had a cord. Of course, he went boing and they ripped out of his ears. I was there just in time to laugh. Yes, I'm the Good Wife.

I thought for fathers day I would buy him a pair of wireless headphones. No, he's not my dad. No, we don't have kids together. But he is a dad. So I bought them. I wanted to get white or a light color because when he is fabrication it makes a real white dust over everything. I figured black ones would look awful in no time. Silver was the lightest.

This began my research. 
Everyone said to buy Dr. Dre's headphones. I saw the cost and about died.
So I went online and did my homework. I found videos of people doing comparisons. I went with the ones that not only cost hundreds of dollars less but that the best rankings and affordable. 
 I bought him SMS Audio SYNC wireless headphones by 50cent. These are nice! They do the trick for what he needs. Because they are blue tooth Rick paired them with the TV, his tablet, his phone etc.  On our DVR, we have a Sammy Hagar show that we turn to every now and then.
I told Rick I wanted to hear the TV with them so he hit the Sammy show and viola. Man, these are nice.
Now I remember why I am losing my hearing. I used to listen to music through headphones for years when I was young  - and listened loudly!  He is thrilled with them. He spent the day wearing them. When I went out to his shop to speak with him he was singing - loudly and off key. It was a hoot. I should have recorded that for facebook and blogger. Not so good wife.

I love that you can pair them with the TV. Now  I can watch TV with the volume completely off on the TV when Rick is sleeping and I can still hear the TV and watch my shows.  How did we live without wireless everything for Petes sake?  Also helps for a person who's hearing is a bit impaired to not have the TV at a high volume. (just read that on someone's blog and it's also my issue) 

This is what he got for fathers day from his daughter. The apron and the Koozie.
See that koozie? It's called a boobzie. Guess she knows her dad huh?  But really that can't be used anywhere. At least Rick would never use it. The apron, he'll wear. Again it won't let me rotate. The photo is not like this until we get it on blogger. WTH?  any suggestions would be appreciated.

Insomnia lessons

Here is what I have learned from Insomnia

• Barney Miller is funny all these years later. I watched so many in the wee hours this morning that I can say it holds up. Sure there is no internet or cell phones so there is that topic when they mention an encyclopedia and it's not Wikipedia. But it is still so funny. Old reruns make me happy. I loved old Cheers with Shelly Long and Coach. Those are on at 3am and I watched 1 then the 2nd one was with Kirstie Alley and I don't care for her so I went to Bewitched.  Yes, all my childhood tv shows are on in the wee hours. (the 1st Darrin)  Leave it To Beaver would have been icing on the cake for me .

• That no matter what time it is, my neighbor knows I have little clothing on and will be on his deck when I walk outside.  Honest to God this man is having a cigarette on his patio no matter when I go out to the patio or garage. Yesterday evening I asked Rick to get something from the garage fridge. He was sitting in his chair and I was standing. I realize why he gave me that look as if to say, "Are your legs broken?"  I immediately said, "I'm not wearing a bra and you know as soon as I step on the patio it's like a bell goes off in his house." Rick said, "oh I'm sure he's not out there I just saw him have one a little bit ago."  So I peak out - no one. So I run to the garage and as I am coming up the steps to the patio what do I hear, "Hi Peggy" OH GOD.  So I immediately cross my arms because I know he is going to chat.  I said,"Hi, in a hurry I'll catch you later." Whew.  So at 2 am I am downstairs watching tv since I have insomnia. I realize that the juice I wanted was in the garage fridge. I am wearing a man's white Ralph Lauren shirt. It comes to my knees. But it is huge and comfy because it was Rick's. I have on nothing underneath. It's my house, why would I?  I figure, it's 2am, who the hell is outside. So I walk to the garage and hear, "Someone else is up too huh?" Oh for the love of God. I jumped about 3 ft. He laughed. I ran to the garage and said, "I'm not dressed so I will wait for you to go in (insert name) I hear him laugh. No shit I swear he can somehow hear when I plan to go outside because he is always there when I go outside. Never when Rick is. I so wish I had an acre of land and never have to deal with neighbors on top of me.

• Insomnia makes me read, watch tv, and do odd things. I was upstairs on the 3rd floor tv room one evening and decided to dust, rearrange things under the sink in the guest bath and to rearrange a book case. I'd have cleaned the tub if I knew the water running wouldn't wake up my prince charming and his obsessed dog. 

• Insomnia makes me covet sleep. seriously I long for the days as a teen when I could have slept all day. I want to do that now but never actually could.

• Insomnia also gives me some of my best ideas for work projects and work issues. By morning, I have a slew of things to discuss with Rick. This morning I had a great idea and he was like, "that's the answer! Damn when you don't sleep it's so helpful."  Gee thanks, so glad I could help.  We just won a bid for this job that is enormous and we were concerned how to address two issues that they had in their contract. I thought of a way to address them. I wrote to them this morning about the 2 lines we did not agree on. They wrote back and agreed to our new terms. Yipee. So we have a job that will take 9 months but this is good. It does bring up a few other positive problems that we need to figure out but again, positive problems. So much better than the other kind. 

• We just got amazon prime and I now have another way to stream movies and series. We got it for the free shipping aspect on amazon. We buy some supplies from amazon and this will save us so much money in the long run. The perk of  going this route was we receive their streaming because of it.   I never did see Downton Abby so I will begin that during my next evening of insomnia. I know Rick will never watch that show. I do find Amazon very cumbersome compared to Netflix but I'll figure it out. I don't know of anything else on Amazon but I'm sure I'll hear from you all who watch something on there that is good.

Tootsie Rolls....just for me!

I work with a wireless headset. I love it.
I have always worked from home in my corporate jobs and always had headsets. I was spoiled.
So when we ventured out in our own company I wanted a headset.  At first I had ones that tethered me to my desk. Sometimes I would forget and get up and walk to a printer or something and BOING!  

Then they came out with the wireless kind. It changed my life.
Since my office is in my home it is wonderful to be wireless.
At lunch while downstairs in the kitchen I can eat lunch, play with Izzy and if the phone rings I can still pick up the phone because I am wearing my headset. (yes I work from home and never take a lunch without interruptions)
It even works as far as my patio, so if I sit outside at lunch I can answer the phone.
And to what you are all thinking and only my sister asked, "No I do not use it in the restroom" 
A girl should get some time off for good behavior shouldn't she?

Now every time something is needed, a new battery, a new piece that accompanies my phone, whatever they are quick to respond and they always send you your items in a box filled with tootsie rolls instead of styrofoam packing. I love that idea. 

Earlier this week my battery wasn't fully charging. I did a reset which gives me a bit more life and ordered a new battery. (they last about 2 yrs) I placed the new order and turned to Rick and Gary and said in a sing songy voice "Oooh, I 'm going to get tootsie rolls this week and I'm not sharing." 

They laughed at me because earlier in the week each man got some kind of baked goods from women when they were doing work for them. I asked why they never share with me. They both said, "'cause they were for us doing good work."  Yea yea, tub studs and all that jazz. 
Okay fine, playing that way are ya? I can play like that too. Hence my comment about sharing.

So yesterday my new battery arrived and Rick was here at the time. I opened the box and out came small taffy like candies the size of those small tootsie rolls. I picked them up and apparently I didn't have a good look on my face and that caused Rick to burst out laughing. "What no tootsie rolls Margaret? See what happens when you tell people you won't share - Karma Baby!"    Oh now he is really laughing.
He went to grab a piece of candy off my desk and I slapped his hand - still not sharing mister!

This morning I got an email from our account manager from headsets.com. She was asking me about my new battery. Was everything okay and just general good customer service follow up.
I replied with a phone call and said that not everything was good. Where were my tootsie rolls?  
She laughed and asked, "Did they send you the taffy-like ones that taste like a starburst?"  "Yep, and after I made a scene with the boys here that I wouldn't share my tootsie rolls. I guess I got what I deserved, huh?"   My rep was really laughing now.  
We discussed the battery and some other tips on the charging and that was the end of the call.

Then today I got an email from UPS stating that I was receiving a package from headsets.com.
Hmm, that's funny because I didn't order anything else. I called Ann, my account manager, she told me she sent me tootsie rolls. How damn funny is that? Just a box of tootsie rolls.

I can't wait to show this to the boys. I will open them and say, "Look what I got that I won't share boys?"

Now that is customer service AND their products are awesome!!

Secrets to a Long and Happy Marriage

Random Tuesday Notes

Some of the random items rolling around my head.

**I find this woman who has been pretending to be black interesting. Oh sure I've heard each side bitch about it. But seriously she is not quite right to me  She has done a lot of good for the NAACP from what I have read. Why wouldn't she just be herself and do good? Why did she feel the need to be something she is not? Why would she introduce a black man as her father when she has a white father? You don't think your real father may be a bit pissed by this diss?
The history of the NAACP was started with black and white people to advance "colored" people. I understand that concept.  I also have a very liberal mind set on this topic so I also understand the empathy, HOWEVER, I am white and I will never be able to fully understand the difficulty that being black can sometimes have for people in our society. I have nieces and nephews who are biracial and we talk about these things. It breaks my heart by some things they have had to endure or the way they have been treated. And while I can feel for them, see the issues better than most whites can due to them, I can never say I am black. I didn't live their experiences. I just felt MY pain when they lived some of them. Do you understand what I mean?

This woman actually sued her university for being over looked because she was white. 
Now she says she is black. Did she forget this tidbit? Or did she think they did?
She lied so much that I wonder if she forgot that others knew she was lying and you can't keep lying for long before it all blows up.
I can't fathom how this woman doesn't need a lot of mental help. Get thee to a doctor stat.
I saw a piece of her talking about the struggle of her being a black woman in today's society.
Again, how can one address that unless you are really a black woman in today's society?
What the hell is wrong with people?  I know there are too many answers to that questions aren't there?  It's all so strange on so many levels. Bottom line she did a lot of good. The woman needs some mental health to me. The lying is the big thing here. I think more will come out about why her family did this to her now. Aside from her mental health, there is a piece missing from this whole fiasco to me.

**My baseball team sucks.
I want to bring back George from the dead. I sat up late last night to watch a lousy game with lousy tired players on both teams. Just sucked all around. 

**Yesterday Gary (tub stud) had an explosion of sorts. His "gun" exploded in someone's bathroom. While not as bad as I just made it sound, it wasn't good.
An inner piece of the spray gun just broke and the spray misted onto one of her walls. 
Oh my goodness. 
He called me in a panic. He told me he called the customer in to show her what had happened. I told him to offer to have us pay to have her wall repainted if you can't get it off. 
In the mean time, I paged Rick in the field. This customer had met Rick during the estimate. 
I really felt since she thinks I am just a lowly worker bee and he is the owner, it would make more impact if he were to call her. 

Rick spoke to her and gave her an option. By this time she was calmer and said, "it was just an accident"  But Rick pursued and said there were two choices, pay to have the bathroom wall that was damaged to be repainted or have the job that was done today be free of charge. 
She said she was taking the free of charge.(saved her over $600+) 
I would have too after I found out from Gary that it wasn't that big of a deal but we still needed to make this right. It didn't cover a large area as I had originally thought but it did damage of sorts. He took a photo and then text me. Whew!  Still not good, but better than what I was imaging.
And we can't just act like it's no big deal no matter how small.

She was very appreciative of Rick's offer and told Rick that she appreciated a call so quickly that she didn't have time to get too upset. That made us all laugh since we knew this was not true from the things Gary told us. 

When Gary got back to the office later in the day he was so upset and couldn't stop apologizing. We told him that even though we are not being paid for this job we will still pay him. Shit happens. He didn't do this recklessly, the inside tip of the gun just broke which in turn made the gun spout out like a water hose. It could have gone on furniture and the floor or anywhere else and been much worse than it was, it was a small portion of a wall and if the wall hadn't been navy blue you wouldn't have even seen it because it was a light mist, so we are okay. 

When he arrived this morning he was still upset. He kept saying that he was so sorrry and he should have double checked this. But honestly there is no way to know that could happen. 
I love that this kid is so conscientious though. 
When he left he said, "I promise no issues for you to handle today Miss Peggy."
I laughed and said, "as soon as you say such a thing something will happen." 
Hopefully, a review from this woman won't be horrific. But there is a first time for everything. We've never had this happen in 10 yrs. But shit happens and it sure did for Gary yesterday.
He had a bad day all day at each job and some issues in traffic that made him late for his last job. Both he and Rick get itchy if they are running on time or late. 
While I hate that this did happen there sure is nothing we could have done better I don't think, so it is what it is. Hopefully, this won't hurt too much (review wise)

**Rick had to give blood today and pee in a cup for his life insurance. The tech to draw this blood was coming to our home at 8am. Rick was fasting and so wanted coffee this morning.
I was on my 2nd cup trying to get moving and Izzy wanted to go back outside. So he and Iz went outside and I walked upstairs to get dressed. Then I hear Rick talking so I hang over the railing and say, "You talking to me Rick?"  Nope. It was the woman coming to draw blood. She was an hour early. Oh my goodness. Thankfully I had already headed upstairs or she would have caught me in Rick's shirt and only what God gave me. Who comes an hour early? And at that hour?
Rick said she was sitting outside our home waiting for 8am so when he saw her he told her to come in.
She said with the traffic around here she never knows if she'll be late or early. Early is better to her so she didn't mind waiting but was happy to come inside.  

She walked into our powder room and looked around. I guess she was looking for pee in a cup that we would use for a switcheroo. I found it interesting to watch her. Of course she acted like she was looking at my home. She made a joke about our guest book in the bathroom and things about the decorating of my home.  I think she thought we didn't know what she was doing. Then maybe most old folks don't, who knows.
Rick hasn't had heroin this week so we're fine.{ That line makes me laugh because some people will think I'm serious). No, my husband doesn't do heavy drugs. If they are looking for tequila, southern comfort or vodka, his pee would not be "clean" and he won't be insured. 
But thankfully they don't check for alcohol because he is pickled most days so he can still be insured.  

I was thinking about her job. I think it would be horrible to have to go to people's home, draw blood and collect their urine. Whoo-hoo. So I suppose my day could be worse now couldn't it?

**I am having intermittent issues with our internet connection. I have called Verizon FIOS 3 times yesterday. They say nothing is wrong. One numb nut took over my PC and just did a speed test. WTH? When it's working I am not having an issue with speed. Then he hangs up and it goes down. I wanted to scream. They say they don't see this. This morning it has been down more than up. I am so angry. Right now as I am typing I am on hold. Hold times are normally 20 minutes. Nice huh?  I am sure this won't be posted before 11am or later due to this issue.  Technology helps us right?

I just got off the phone again with Verizon and it's 2 hrs since that last paragraph. 
Can I tell you how much this drive me crazy?
After all these issues they then had the balls to ask me, "Would you like to switch to FIOS TV for a full bundle, it will save you money."  I laughed and said, "you have my info in front of you.  How often do you see that my phone lines and my internet have issues or go down? If I had TV I would never have it because it will always be down.  Thanks for asking, but I love Dish and will stay put there."  He tried again. I interrupted him and said, "Seriously? " He laughed. Hell, at least he had a sense of humor and saw what I was saying.

**As you can see by the time....still having internet issues.It's now way past 11am. Remember how we believed that technology was going to make work easier? Oh my that is a belly laugh.

Ass of the Week and Funny of the Week.

"Hi Peg this is Tom, remember me? I live on XYZ."

"No Tom, I'm sorry I don't. I speak to a lot of Tom's. When did we speak?"

He sighs loudly to show his disgust with me. "You did work for me in 2014 remember now?"

(yea, I can't remember where I left my purse yesterday so how can I remember every Tom?)

By the time he was done bitching how I didn't remember him I had pulled up the excel spreadsheet and found him from early 2014 and said, "Oh yes,we did a full bathroom for you right?"

Yea, I have it all in the spreadsheet BECAUSE I CAN'T REMEMBER ANYTHING.

He is happy now. 
I ask him what I can do for him this fine Friday morning. 
"our caulking is all moldy and shrinking so I need you to come back out and redo it. I assume that is free since it's only been a year."

Tom, do you have your warranty with you by chance?  
Yes.
See the bold capital letters that state that caulking is not warranted and the reasons why.

SILENCE.

Caulking can shrink over time Tom and without proper ventilation and wiping it and cleaning it, it indeed can get moldy if you let it get to that point. Hence, why it states this is not under warranty. It is something out of our control. Now we can come back out and remove it all and recaulk if you'd like.

What is that gonna cost me?

I tell him.

He begins to yell.  I just put him on speaker at this point to let him vent. 
When he was done I said, "So you don't want us to come out there then?"
He yells some more.

I say, "Tom we will be in your city on Thursday, June 18th at 0:00a. We can swing by and recaulk it all at that time. This will be the last time it will be done for free. I am sending Rick, the owner, he will again go over all of this with you.

"I can't do Thursday."

"That is the option. Thursday is the day we will be out in that county.
Do you wish to just leave a key?"

"No, I'll be there, have him come."
(wth?)

I reconfirm the date and time with him and again repeat it is free this time only.
He mutters something which I am sure is not nice and hangs up.

TGIF is all I can think of.

Then this happens this morning as well. Funny is so much better!

I have been working with this client for some time now. We have spoken at least once a week for the past month. Coordinating our job with other contractors and the scope of work is something the homeowner and I go back and forth on a great deal. There have been changes and all kinds of things that come up in a big remodel so I have had the pleasure of speaking with her a great deal. Super nice young woman. Somewhere along the line she asked about the man that did the estimate because her neighbor let him in the house for her and she didn't meet him. The "man" who did the estimate was Rick. 

Well, apparently her neighbor thought Rick was hot and wondered how old he was. I said that "my boss" was 60. Lisa, (the name of this nice lady) said, "oh he can't be the way he was described."
I told her that while he does look younger he is indeed 60. 

Fast forward to this morning when Gary shows up at her house. 
She calls me and is whispering to me, "Peggy this is Lisa, can you hear me?"  

"Yes, Lisa I can hear you is there a problem?" (I always assume problem these days)

She said, "There is no way this man is 60.  Mmm mmm mmm mmm!"

I laughed....loudly.

I said, "Lisa that isn't Rick, that is Gary. Gary just turned 40"

"Oh my, girl we have to talk when he leaves (all the while whispering) Is he single?"

"Yes, he is single."

Mmm mmm mmm mmm mmm!
(that cracks me up - I so wish I could type the imitation of her doing this!)

"Peggy he sure is fine. He is a big boy isn't he?"

"Yes, he's like 6'5 and a body builder."

"Wow.  I'll call you later."

So of course because we have this running gag here I text Gary.
I tell him she is hot for you - be careful out there.
He texts me back - "better than Monday!"

Monday Gary had a man hitting on him while a woman at the house encouraged him. It's too long to go into now, Gary had to let him down nicely and say, thank you but no thank you.  He still got a tip but not the tip  the man wanted to give him. (wink wink)

I text both guys and tell them I am going to make extra income by making them pose for some photos. 
We will make a calendar of The Tub Studs.

Burial of a Sofa

When we moved to our current home in January of 2000, we moved in and within 24 hrs I had to leave on a trip for work.
We unpacked what we could before I left. Rick was working from home that week so I had high hopes that he would get a good deal done. I knew he wouldn't want to do the kitchen but other things he promised he'd try to get done.

I arrived home on a Friday after a long week all over the state of NY to find an L-shaped sofa sitting in my kitchen. That is not where I wanted the sofa, was my first thought.  As I put down my suitcase Rick came down stairs and welcomed me home. I knew if I said something too quickly it would appear that I didn't appreciate the fact that the majority of the boxes were not in the kitchen, dining room and great room area on the 1st floor. So he was working hard.
I thanked him for doing so much while I was gone but then I added, " ah, this big ass sofa really doesn't look so great here, why didn't  the movers bring this up to the 3rd floor TV room?"

He began the story of how these pieces would not go around the corner of the 2nd floor up to the 3rd floor. They just wouldn't fit.  The ceiling around that 2nd-floor turn onto the 3rd-floor corner was too low. 
So there sat an enormous sofa in my kitchen for a week. 
They tried it all ways, every piece for a very long time I was told.

Our development was under construction at the time and there were plenty of trucks, workers etc going up and down the street all day. One day Rick ran out to a man on a fork lift type truck. He offered him money if he would load this sofa up on his fork lift and put the sofa sections in through our 3rd-floor windows.  By George if that didn't work like a charm. It cost us $40 I believe. The man barely spoke English until it came to cash, which we found funny. But since this damn sofa was in our kitchen and we were climbing over it, we didn't care and gave him the $40 to get it the hell out of our kitchen. 

He came back with another guy in mere minutes. The 3 of them (Rick too) brought the sofa outside and loaded it on the lifts. In the mean time, Rick ran up to the 3rd floor and removed the window. And since that bedroom had no furniture yet, it was easy to just come in through the window and put down anywhere before moving it to the TV room.
Whew! it worked.

That sofa was in the TV room for a couple of years. Then we went to theater seats. We then separated the sofa and put one each in each bedroom for company to enjoy.  Now we want one of the sofas the heck out of the bedroom at the top of the stairs. (keeping the other sofa in the other guest room)

Rick had already put in a new vanity top, sink and fixtures in that jack 'n jill bath and I decided to freshen up the bedroom and turn it back into a real bedroom to be used by company.
This bedroom used to be used as my office when I was in the corporate world. My desk, my large book cases, my sofa etc. But now I need it to be a full blown bedroom for all this company we get. Having 2 extra bedrooms is great but not if one is unusable as a bedroom. That made me get my butt in gear so I began painting it and putting in new bedding etc. 
(Now I need to buy another bed - hate that part $)

But the issue was, how do we remove this bed sectional piece from this bedroom? 
It doesn't fit around the corner to go down the steps. The development is fully built now and we can't just throw it out the window and pray that it doesn't squish someone walking by.  

We talked about what we wanted to do and Rick decided he was going to saw the damn sofa in pieces and bring them down a little at a time. I laughed at first but realized this was really all that could be done. So yesterday we began the process after he got home.
As he took his saw out of its case he said again, "Are you sure you want this done because there is no turning back"    Yep - saw away big boy.

We took out the sofa bed part first. I carried down all the cushions, mattress, and the spring thingy down the 3 flights of stairs out to the garage curb for the garbage men.
Rick sawed and I carried pieces down the stairs. God how I wish I lived in a ranch home when I had to carry all this stuff out to the curb!  3 flights of stairs is a bear at times like these.

The room is now void of a big sofa so I can finish the painting in that area this weekend.
It's going to be horrible hot and humid so I'll stay indoors with the A/C and finish this darn room.

This sofa, lest you feel badly that it was cut into pieces, is old. I bought it in 1987. Then when we moved to Seattle the movers damaged it and they paid to have it reupholstered in 1993. So we got many more years from it and it was a very good solid sofa  and remarkably still stylish. 
But it was time to be buried.

We see this man drive around the development on recycle day and he drives a big ole truck. 
He picks up others garbage and who knows what he does with it. I have seen him with some really nice furniture pieces as well as book cases. Some of these simple book cases just need some crown molding around the top and some molding in other areas and they would be a great piece on the cheap. I imagine he does things like that and then sells them. I would if I had the time. I love to repurpose stuff. Anyhoo, we imagined this man seeing this sofa in pieces and crying as he drove by this morning. For some reason that made Rick happy. Sick bastard.

Maybe I should get myself a truck and go around doing what this guy does to get furniture for this empty room. It could save me a ton of money. I think I want this room to be twin beds since the other guest room is a queen. When families are here the kids can use twins if a boy and girl but not a queen if a boy and girl. So I think I'm going that route. Anyone got some twin bed frames you wish to bring me?  You;'ll get great exercise going up and down 3 flights of stairs.

Wine with pot? Get in line.

All who come here know my love of great (dry) red wine.  Aah, nectar of the Gods to me.

I read this article and thought, Now why didn't I think of that?
Wine to chill/relax, pot to take the edge off the painful joints, bad back, etc.
What else can an old broad possibly need?
Where do I get this? Is it in DC yet?  It's legal there.  I'll take a trip to fetch.
Hope my boss doesn't do drug tests. (wink wink)

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/melissa-etheridge-among-celebrities-cashing-marijuana-business/

Busy June

June has come in with a whirlwind of activities.
Busy, busy, busy.
I haven't blogged and I'm sorry to say it will be awhile more before I do it again.

The weather here is another thing that is so odd. It's cold, dreary and rainy. Now when I say cold, I suppose that is all relative, but it's only in the high 60's and normally we are in the 80's right now. So it's cold and very, very wet. 

We have company arriving tonight and thus begins our company season as we refer to it.
It's not as "occupied" as when we had our vacation home, thank goodness. 
We had company almost every weekend.
But it now begins. It's always fun in the beginning isn't it?

It also makes you REALLY clean up the house. So it's good to be pushed like that.
But I must admit, it gets old to me after awhile. 
After the next few rounds of company I will be done with it.
The meal planning, the cleaning, the entertaining, the staying awake past my bedtime and being the event coordinator. Rick and I are old. We really don't want this much activity anymore. We are just two content old farts who enjoy hanging at home doing low key things. Well, that isn't happening this weekend with 20 something coming to town. But this should be fun. Remember it's our first round of company so they get us refreshed and energized. The company #5 after them will pay the price. 

But our incoming company tonight is hoping to play tourist all day tomorrow in the District while Rick and I work. I pray that the rains stop and they can have a nice day out there.

Rick has converted our garage to a full fledged workshop for his countertop fabrication side of the business. Gary now does all the refinishing and Rick focuses on vanities and kitchen counters.

We had to get new wiring so when he ran his compressor he didn't blow fuses.  
It's amazing what he produces from our garage. He is a photo of the last island he did. I don't have a pic of the whole kitchen. But I liked this one. Normally I don't care for what customers pick, but this one I did. I even liked the edge she chose. Most get too fancy for me. I really dislike the choice of the newest kitchen he is doing. Very expensive materials but I don't find it pretty. But it's not my kitchen either so it's all good.

One afternoon as I sat in my loft office this is what I heard.
He came in from the garage muttering and  that alone will make me laugh because I know he is fuming, but the muttering is like a cartoon so I giggle at that.  I hear him open the fuse box panel or whatever it's called today. (I know they aren't fuse thingys anymore just switches) Then he goes back outside as I hear the screen slam behind him. Then in a few minutes I hear, damn it, and he's inside again. Then he leaves. A little bit later I hear, son.of.a.bitch and he's back. I am in the office laughing inside. He is not amused. That is why I find it funny. 

The man next door likes to make things in his garage with wood and he told Rick he had an electrician come out for only $1,500 to add another something or another to have power and to stop what he has been going through.
Rick went onto his facebook neighborhood contractor site and saw a man who was a licensed electrician and had him come out here. He said that we couldn't just do this without a permit and an inspection and explained all the reasons why and what needed to be done. 
We went through all the correct routes that my neighbor did not do. It cost us only $600 and the electrician even got the permits and did all the legwork. We were finally approved by the inspector yesterday. Now everything is legal and if we sell there will be no issue. Unlike the nice man next door who did this illegally along with being charged double the price. He asked Rick how the project was going in the garage, but Rick didn't say anything to him about the permits and the inspections and such. He was in a hurry because he is going on a big trip so Rick said if he brings it up again he will share this with him at this time.This way if he wishes to get it fixed he can and if he doesn't care to change anything,  he will be prepared for what will happen when he sells.

So now the garage is insulated, cool in summer, warm in winter and his fridge in the garage is fully stocked with snacks and water. So he is all set to make some money for his wife. Or as I like to say, "To care for me in a fashion I wish to become accustomed." Yep, that's lottery money, but it doesn't hurt to remind the man. 

Having an electrician working on the power to your home means that I was sporadically shut down. No computer, no phones etc. Makes my work day a bit of a mess. I did get a great deal of my filing done, past and present,  and I walked the dog more and she liked that. But then I would come back to a mound of work and so many calls that I ended up working 1.5 hrs later each day they were here. But it's now all finished as of yesterday and this big project that Rick is working on will be much easier for him since the power is there for him to run all equipment. That just means I will have to find something else to laugh at Rick for since he won't be uttering obscenities each time he has to come back in the house to flip a switch at the box.
I'm sure I'll be able to find something to laugh at him about though, don't you?