I Could Almost be Persuaded ~

What is there about losing a person’s energy from a home that causes all sorts of other energy to go nuts?

When Rex died, the washing machine quit, the microwave quit, three months later the water heater died. Dean didn’t die, thank God, and since he has been totally indisposed as far as doing anything physical, the thermostat in his office died completely and a glass table top fell over and splintered all over the deck. 

After the first two days of using a space heater in his office, it no longer matters as the temperature has risen. He can purchase the new thermostat later. I called a friend to come help me clean up the glass because it really was a two person job ~ although, bless her, she did most of it. I’m just sort of waiting to see what happens next. The accident happened just as the summer work around the house was beginning so even if nothing else happens, it will take friends and hired help to get some of the work done. A friend read Dean’s statement about buying some good bourbon and brought over a Huge bottle of Jack Daniels. About now I wish I were a bourbon drinker. 

Wish More Businesses Had This Service

I cannot believe I am complimenting Anything that has to do with taxes. And ~ credit really does need to be given where it is due. The California Franchise Tax Board has a process that once your call is in line to be answered, you can leave your phone number and you will be called back. You do not lose your place in line. You are called when they would have answered your “hold”. Except you haven’t had to be on hold. The first time I used this, my wait was 5 to 7 minutes. Today it was 36 to 54 minutes. For that amount of holding and listening to either bad music or recorded messages telling me how they appreciate my business (!) and will be with me shortly, I am very grateful for this service. Sure enough sometime before the 54 minutes were up, I received the call. And it worked out well which is good too. 

Reason vs. Emotion

Reason tells me that the MAX 4 brand of amphibious ATVs is a good brand. The video clips and website show a nifty little vehicle in several sizes tooling around the forest, through streams and even into lakes. With the addition of tracks to the six chubby tires, it glides through snow. Reason tells me that with seat belts and helmets which all the actors are wearing, the vehicle is safe and secure, well-made and handy. Perfect for our property here in the mountains. 

Emotion tells me that I never want to be within 6 feet of one of them again and will Never have one on our property, never, no way, nada. Period. End of story. 

Some day there may be a debate. Right now Emotion would win. 

He What???

As a follow up to the last post ~ we saw our own doctor today and Dean has a couple of fractured bones in his back. His response:

Good news is that I am going to live and in a few weeks be back to normal. Bad news is I have a broken back. Sounds bad and it is certainly a challenge. Two of the small bones that come off the 4th & 5th vertebrae are broken one a bit more than the other. 

The main vertebrae is fine and straight. That's a good thing. My back will be very tender for a while. The only thing they do is give you pain meds and tell you to take it easy. Some physical therapy in a few weeks. Basically it "tough it out". 

Might be a good time to stock up on good bourbon. 

I am quite sure my eyes looked like the deer in the headlights when the doctor said, "He broke his back." I wasn't sure if he were joking or not. Given the nature of the fractures, it was a little bit in between. So - 4 to 6 weeks of taking it very easy. Some physical therapy after a while. No heavy lifting and moving slowly ~ which is all the moving he can do anyway. 

We continue to be grateful for what it is given what it might have been. 

Everything is OK ~

Dean wants to buy a Max, a 6-wheeled vehicle onto which you can attach a track. Perfect for our drive both winter and summer. One was for sale in Downieville about an hour and a half away. I really didn’t want to go with him and in the end he convinced me we would have an adventure seeing scenery we hadn’t seen before and seeing a nice little town. So off we all three went, Oso being the third. 

The man who was selling the Max took Dean on a ride. Dean even drove it some. On the way back the owner was driving and he backed the vehicle up their very steep drive. At the top of the drive as he was putting on the emergency brake, something happened and suddenly he had no control except a little steering. No brakes and a steep drive heading to a road with a  plunge down a hill on the other side. Thank goodness, he had sense enough to steer the thing into the wall of the drive instead of letting it cross the road. 

Unfortunately because they were just out on a test run neither had on seat belts or helmets. The owner ended up with a badly scratched and swelling arm. Dean landed on the side of his head and in spite of his saying he doesn’t remember passing out and coming to, that’s what happened. When I reached him he was lying very still with blood under his head. Scary! 

Here is what I am thankful for tonight: 

~ I went with him so could drive us home. 

~ they only fell over instead of down a cliff

~ roll bars

~ the kindness of strangers

~ competent doctors in a small town clinic who knew Exactly what to do

~ Oso for sleeping all the way home and being such a good dog all afternoon

~ being able to call Dean’s family from the clinic when I had no cell service

~ the offer to take care of Oso and give me dog food if necessary

~ the assurance that a hotel room would be found and provided if we had had to stay the night in Downieville

~ Daylight Savings time which allowed me to drive us home in the light

~ Dean, whom I love

Dean has a “cauliflower ear” ~ his left ear is Huge and there are about 10 stitches in the back of it and on the back of the ear itself. And his body aches All Over from being tossed around. Otherwise he is “fine” - and we have a couple of days to take it easy and be careful. 

So ~ given the state of affairs as they stand right now, there is much for which to be grateful. Amen. 

In Which I Learned to Eat Bleu Cheese Dressing ~

and Became an Independent Woman

My first real boy friend and person that I actually dated lived in North Carolina where we visited every summer and many Christmases when I was young. We met at church when I was 12 and he was 17. Rather shocking to my mother and her good Southern family knew his good Southern family so all was well. 

Late in that first summer he asked if he could take me out to dinner ~ he being older, of driving age, and with a car. All was arranged and I was very excited. It would be my first real date. Then my mother and her sisters ~ and I do have a sense of the sisters being in on it ~ decided to tell me how to behave. 

I had been out to dinner many times with my parents so we weren’t talking manners. We were talking food. I knew enough to check the menu with him so I didn’t order over his budget. But then came the horror of it all. Do. Not. Order bleu cheese dressing for my salad!!! After all a southern belle’s breath needed to be sweet and nothing would kill that quicker than bleu cheese dressing. 

All went well. We both decided on the same meal and of course I ordered first. ~ with French (ugh) dressing on my salad. Then he ordered ~ with Bleu Cheese dressing on his salad. WHAT???

Now we have all eaten out and changed our minds before the server left the table. Such an easy thing to do: excuse me, may I have the salad instead of the soup; would you put the sauce on the side? Easy. Except I was 12, on a first date, and a good obedient southern daughter and niece. So I had French dressing on my salad while his came with a gorgeous, delicious heap of bleu cheese. 

And in that moment I Knew ~ there was a flash of light ~ an epiphany ~ and I would Never let anyone make that kind of choice for me again. I would seek advice obviously whether about menu choices, colleges, jobs, raising children.  And then I would make my own choice ~ and live with it. But by golly No One was going to tell me I couldn’t have bleu cheese dressing on my salad!!

A Gift of Time

One of the gifts I give myself is gym three mornings a week. Another gift I give myself is gym Only three mornings a week. I have learned that my body responds better to workouts with time in between so I go to gym on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. That leaves Tuesday and Thursday mornings for appointments ~ doctor’s, vet’s, haircut, etc. It also allows for leaving the house showered and dressed before 9:30.

Once in a while, however, there is no Thursday morning plan. That means no hurry. I get up whenever it is time to get up. With the morning light these days, that can mean any time between 5:45 and 7:30. I am able to dress at leisure; take a few minutes to enjoy Dean’s morning fire; actually decide on what’s for breakfast instead of throwing oatmeal in the pot. If Dean doesn’t have to leave until later in the morning, we might even take Oso for a walk. There is something really lovely about the gift of time in the middle of the week.