Roof repair

Even as I write this my roof is being repaired.  Mark arrived a few minutes before 10 am, just as he had promised.  The noise from whatever he's doing is so much more pronounced than if he was walking and working on a regular type roof rather than the metal.  I haven't ever been on the roof, but it doesn't seem to be very sturdy - I never liked walking about on the roof of my 5th wheel either.

It's ironic that I had originally planned to attend a reunion at Lassen Volcanic Nat'l. Park today, and then later decided I would go to a baby shower that is being held at Jeannie's house for her friend, Tracy.  I have always liked Tracy, and in fact her parents came to Ireland when I was living there and made sure to meet me there.   I'm sorry to have had to miss the shower, but my roof getting fixed is the most important thing to me right now.  

Maybe I should do a rain dance within the next few days and hope I get some rain before I go to NY.  I will ask my kids if one of them can be sure to go over and check things out if it rains while I'm gone.  Oh well, I just have to trust that everything will be ok.

I'm running low on groceries so I haven't been eating the most nutritious meals lately.  I'd like to get the fridge nearly empty so I can clean it thoroughly before I leave.   It's a job I hate and put off until the last possible moment!

With all the books I checked out at the library last week, I'm returning at least 4 of them without reading them.  I started on a couple of books and didn't like how they were going within the first few pages, and they aren't worth sticking through in hopes the story line will get better.  There are plenty more books I can check out.

I need to find a good book to take with me to read on the plane, plus a good crossword puzzle book to alternate with the reading material.   I'll have to go to Barnes & Noble to find a decent crossword book - I like the hard ones such as the Sunday NY Times puzzles.  My all time favorite puzzles were from the Saturday Observer newspaper which went out of print years ago.  The Saturday puzzle would last me all week as I would get a few answers each time I picked it up but always had a few blanks left by the time the new puzzle appeared.  That's the way I like them - always having a couple of answers I can't get.  And yes, I always do crosswords in ink!

I am about to explode right now.  I have an old man who lives next door who likes to talk to anyone he can catch.  I have never had anyone here to do anything that he doesn't come out and start running off at the mouth.  He's now telling my roofer what kind of coating he should be using.  I guess Mark can take care of himself, and I'm not paying him by the clock.

 Now the roof is finished and I am so relieved but I hated to see the money go from my savings account.

Just relaxing

I'm having an easy day - stayed in bed a half hour longer and that set the tone for the entire day, I think.  I took a cup of coffee and one of my books out to the front porch, but after sitting there a minute I decided to go sit at the back of my driveway.  I'm still in green silk pajamas and felt kind of conspicuous on the front porch!

Yesterday was the most beautiful day in a long time - never got above 80.  Today's forecast is for a high of 90 but I'm hoping it doesn't quite reach that.  

I have a good supply of books to read now - all mysteries, all fun to read, and all very forgettable.   A commenter, Geocaching, asked me about book titles.  What I do is go to the mystery section at my local library branch.  I scan the shelves for paperbacks - maybe two or three that look like they belong together - and usually they are the kind of mystery I'm looking for.  As I mentioned, they all have themes, such as old house renovation, cooking, baking, sewing, tea shoppe, etc.  I'll bring a stack of them home and sometimes I find a particular author is not to my liking, and I'll return all her books unread.

If you look for books this way, be aware that they are silly, funny, whatever; some feature a ghost or someone who can see and converse with ghosts; some have different paranormal themes, and I even got hold of a series one time that was a "Christian mystery" (written in small print so that I didn't realize what I had until I was into the book.  I quickly got tired of the preaching although I liked the plot, but returned the books in short order.  The witnessing and preaching were totally out of context and I don't like it to begin with.  Another thing I do is to read the books in order, and you can find the print date on one of the pages in front of the book.   Sometimes I go to the Sac Library catalog and request the titles to fill in with what I pick up at my branch, but I always try to read from first to last.  Most authors of these books only write 3 or 4, and then either write a new and different series or just drop out altogether.  Right now I'm happy to read this kind of fluff, and now and then I'll read something more serious.

I fixed myself some blueberry pancakes this morning.  I have frozen blueberries on hand, and even threw in some chopped walnuts.  Topped with organic maple syrup and I'm feeling great, although a little full.   I had to go get dressed because I notice I got some pancake batter on my pajama top!

I need to get back to some serious decluttering before I leave for NY in September.  I'd hate to think something would happen to me and my kids would have to go through all this mess!

Reading the day away

I took a stack of books back to the library this morning and got another stack to take home.  They are all paperback mysteries, not the scary kind but with themes, such as cooking, B&B, quilters, etc.  Usually they amount to a fun read and I can easily read one in a day if I don't do much else.

I made a quick trip to the grocery after I got my books - I was out of milk, half & half, and bananas - I picked up a package of frozen corn dogs (16 in the pkg) and had 2 for lunch.  They were actually pretty good.  I stood by the ice cream freezer for a while but walked away from the Klondike bars empty-handed.  I've felt virtuous ever since, but now and then I wish a box had just fallen into my cart.

I made arrangements with the roofer I liked (both him and his quote).  He told me he is booked the rest of the week but would get to it on Saturday or Sunday depending on how his current jobs are going.  We talked briefly about the work he will do, and I feel like he does a good job of explaining it.  It will be good to have it done before I leave for NY, and I really hope it will rain after the work is done and before I take off.

I feel pretty good about life in general today, although the trip to the gym yesterday no doubt has something to do with my good mood.  After my tasty lunch I'm not really hungry for supper even though it's almost 6:30.   Since I want to hold on to my 126# I'll have to eat, but it will be a late supper.

I find myself looking forward to my trip to New York in September, and Mike has some side trips planned that will be wonderful.  I won't say what they are so I don't jinx anything.

I was looking back over the pictures from the wedding and found this little gem that I didn't post yet.  What a couple of beautiful girls!

I don't think I'll accomplish much today except that I have a load of laundry on the clothesline.   I'll need to start figuring out what to take with me to the east.   It's always been so easy when I could pack whatever I thought I might need in the car, but with airline restrictions and charges for baggage, I'll have to pack smart.

It's starting to warm up so I think I'll go get the clothes off the line before the hottest part of the afternoon.

Some photos taken at the wedding

I forgot to take my camera into the church so I didn't get any of the ceremony, which was presided over by my youngest brother and deacon, Rob.  The following pictures were taken by either Jeannie or me, and I haven't ever seen anyone else's photos although I know they were up on Facebook before the sun rose the next morning.

This is Julie & Paul, my niece Stephanie who was the maid of honor, and sister Amy; my brothers Steve, Rob, and Fred are in the back row, along with yours truly.  You will note my exquisite shoes in the photo - I started out wearing decent shoes but they were so uncomfortable I changed into my Birkenstocks before I even got to Livermore!  At my age the people can just think I'm eccentric.  (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Jeannie and me:  (I wish I had removed those glasses, but if I set them down someplace I will never find them again.)

Jeannie, me and my brother, Fred:

Jeannie and Donald:

Julie and Paul, me, and Rob:

My four granddaughters, with Julie and me in the background. 

Meg (Steve's wife), Jeannie, and Sarah (Joe's wife):

All in all it was an informal and pretty stress-free wedding, a relaxing good time.  The only downside is that my brother, Bill and his wife, Wilma were in town having driven from Milwaukee, but didn't make it to the wedding.  Wilma spent several days in a local hospital when she suffered a bout of vertigo.  She has had it before but it seemed worse this time somehow.  They are back in Milwaukee now and I think she is ok.  I was so worried because there had been a problem with her meds for A-Fib - Bill has an alarm on his iPhone to remind her when to take her meds, but the phone went through a couple of time zone changes and it ended up being 2 hours off in the prescribed time to take the tablet.  The doctors said that had nothing to do with the vertigo though, so that's a good thing.

I rode back with Jeannie & Donald, and we stopped by the hospital for a visit with them - I would have hated to miss seeing them.  They always make me so welcome whenever I stop by to see them on my way to and from NY.

I hope the photos aren't too blurry.  I'm having trouble with my eyes lately and they all look a bit blurred to me.  I'm also seeing floaters that look like little flying insects.  I think there was a fly in my kitchen last night but I couldn't tell for sure if it was really a fly or if I was seeing things.  I was swatting the air though!

Other than it being too hot to suit me I am feeling pretty good - I did recover from the art shop I held yesterday.   Joe and Sarah are working night and day to get ready to put their house on the market tomorrow, so Jeannie & Donald took the girls yesterday and today.  Donald had the kids in the swimming pool a lot of the time, which tires them out and slows them down a little.  I haven't seen Joe's new house yet - it is brand new and still under construction.  Alyssa went on a small crying jag yesterday (when I held her in the rocking chair) about not wanting to move but wanting to stay in her old house.  They will love it once they move in.  They will still be fairly close to me, but a little bit further than the current distance of about a mile.

My calendar looks empty for next week so I hope I can at least get the roofing issue settled.  I'd like to have it taken care of before I leave for New York - with the way things have been there is no way to know if and when we will get some rain.  I sure hope we can end the drought this coming season, or at least put a good dent into it.  Things look pretty grim though.   I will probably put off any extended camping trip until October, although my big tent has been repaired by the Big Agnes company  in Colorado that made it, and I really need to go to the mountains for a day or two to try it out and make sure the repairs are acceptable.

I guess the stars were aligned in such a way that the past week or two has been difficult for me, but whatever it was it is now all worked out and I'm feeling wonderful!   I'll feel even better when the temperature is such that I can get out and about, maybe do some walking and/or hiking, and just generally get moving.

 

Arts and Crafts

What in the name of all that's good and holy (one of my mom's expressions)  ever made me think it would be fun to get artsy craftsy items on hand for when the granddaughters visit!

Donald came over this afternoon with the four little girls (thank goodness he was here to help them with their projects).  They decorated little boxes in different shapes, painted rocks, and did a lot of artwork with glitter pens and markers.  They also ate lots of popcorn and I've finally cleaned up all the little pieces from the floor, chocolate peanut butter cups, blueberries and strawberries.  I will need to mop the kitchen floor tonight to get the chocolate & blueberry smears up.

Donald made them clean up before they left, and I got the markers, paints, and crayons off a leather dinette chair and a wood coffee table with a magic eraser.  It worked like MAGIC!   The floor I cleaned yesterday is a bit smeary today, but it really won't bother me enough to want to clean it again so soon.

One of the girls got upset because something wasn't working out like she planned, and I held and rocked her in my rocking recliner until she let go of all the frustration, which really wasn't too long.   

Donald is making pizza for dinner and asked me to come over, but I think I'm going to go to the closest convenience store for a 6-pack and maybe even some junk food, and just collapse.    It was an intense afternoon, but actually fun.  Now I can relax, read a book, watch tv, and knock back a couple of Hi Life's! 

Do I have a roofer?

I've had several guys come by to look at the roof and talked on the phone to a couple more, but I liked the fellow who just left my house.  I told him I would call him by Monday - I would have hired him on the spot except I'm waiting for another estimate on Monday.  This will be a fix, any way I look at it, and not a new roof.   If this gets settled I can soon relax and enjoy thinking about New York.

I also got my Big Agnes tent back and need to set it up to see if the new zippers work ok.  It's too big to set up on the driveway, and the only thing to do is to find a campsite that isn't too far away and set it up for a couple of days. 

I spent the whole morning steam cleaning my floors in the living/dining/TV area.  I think I wore myself out moving heavy furniture back and forth so that I could clean under everything.  I stopped because the steamer pad got so dirty and I finished the job using a folded microfiber cloth.  I'll throw them in the washing machine and then do the hallway and bedroom next.  That shouldn't be as backbreaking, especially if I don't try to move the heavy chest of drawers.  The little spare room is chock full of office (desk, printer, shredder, supplies) and camping gear.  No way am I going to move all that out right now - maybe one of these days I'll clean that floor. 

Now I'm almost too worn out to fix a decent dinner.