Outside it may STILL be Winter...but inside it is Spring! Home smells like The Flower and Patio Show~
I LOVE forcing bulbs!
Allergies be damned.
Rocky start to the week. Fixing dinner and heard running water...and assumed it was my upstairs neighbors using their dishwasher or something.
No such luck.
The incident reminded me of a car buddy, who often lamented
"Ah...the joys of driving shit that is old"
When discussing a repair to be made to his 1972 Hemi-Cuda
These apartments were built in the 70's. Every once in a while there is a painful reminder that 1970 was nearly 40 years ago...especially with the plumbing.
The water running was a cracked pipe inside the wall between my kitchen and bathroom (shower area).
To their credit...they quickly got an after-hours plumber here. Since the spraying noise was coming pretty directly from behind my stove and shutting off the kitchen, bathroom or main water valve was not stopping it in the least...the guy first cut a large square of drywall out from there. The area would be hidden by the stove.
He had been here for about two hours when I heard him mutter
"Oh....this is BAD..."
Something you NEVER want to hear...especially from an after-hours plumber.
The water by now had seeped out into my kitchen floor...my bathroom floor and soaked the carpet at the entrance to the bathroom. All available towels were now stemming the tide.
When he finally found the origin of the crack/leak a second hole had to be cut...breaking a large section of porcelain tiles as he cut through in the bath/shower.
By Midnight he has been here for 6 hours...but the water was stopped. The pipe replaced. He shop vac'd the mess and left a large blower to dry the section of carpet.
Today, except for the tiling in the bath...you would never know it even happened.
Maintenance has assured me it can be matched and will be replaced soon.
And for not-the-first-time...I breathed a sigh of relief and am soooooooooooooooo glad I rent.
Can you even imagine the cost of 6 hours of an after-hours plumber?
There is a lot to be said for having a grounds-crew and maintenance.
Enjoyed a Valentine's Day Mall-Ratting with friends in Terre Haute and a Red Lobster Brunch.
Checked out the Going-Out-Of-Business sale at Macy's...the Spring scents at Bath & Bodyworks and Yankee Candles...
and then this
and one of these on the side
I requested a virgin...and had the BEST waitress ever, that brought a side (ounce) of dipping chocolate...which I used for the strawberry and pineapple and then swirled the remainder into my drink.
Awesome Valentine's Day Chocolate!
"Dammit, Jim...I'm a Photographer, Writer and Impressionist-Style Painter...not a Cartoonist"
Starting Snoopy on the Weekend.
Can't wait to see Jill's.
Chris has me absolutely HOOKED on the Netflix Series
And am NOT going to binge watch this one. Taking it an episode at a time. Ready for Season 1 Episode 5.
If you haven't checked it out yet...do.
Incredible.
This week's Movie
The Final Book in the Fifty Shades Trilogy. And the movie, much like the last novel, much superior to the previous two.
Beginning with Christian and Anna's wedding...a nice tying up of loose ends (pardon the pun).
Christian finally breaking free of his horrific past.
Well worth a watch.
(...and No Donna...it will never top going to see the first one in Dane's car with a backseat full of tow rope...)
This week's Book
A seriously underwhelming piece of non-fiction that outlines the mind-body strategy.
It isn't the subject matter or that it is New Age...actually I practice a lot of what it teaches.
It is just verbose and at times rambling. Not well written.
Could have used a good editing to pull it together. Needed to be more concise.
All in all-
I would take a pass.
James seems to have found his next vehicle
Very nice and the extended cab makes it big enough for the whole family!
And thinking of cars...
Brilliant.
There is something I love about the thought of a cherry red roadster out there in orbit. For the rest of my lifetime.
Turned my spoiled DIVA...Shelby-Cat on to a new-to-me find this week.
YouTube's FOR CATS series.
Cat TV.
They had one that was a collection of tiny kittens mewing. She would roll-purr and mew back at the screen.
One more thing before we launch into this week's political scene and news.
Actually, this was brought to my attention by a comedian recently.
When I was young (and dinosaurs ruled the earth) we had
The Four Basic Food Groups
As long as your meal included a serving from each food group...it was deemed a healthy nutritious meal.
We didn't have an inordinate amount of unhealthy or morbidly obese kids in our neighborhood. Of course, back then, we were kind of free range and got a lot of fresh air, sunshine and exercise.
I am sure that made a difference.
Then by the time my kids were growing up they had replaced the four basic food groups with
The Food Pyramid
Bread
Rice
Pasta
Potatoes or Cereal
Seriously??????????????????????
Screw you Jenny Craig!
lol!
I'm thinking after 11 servings of these every day you would end up SHAPED like a pyramid.
Or maybe a BEACHBALL.
Now, they have the new...latest and greatest Food Pyramid...for my grandchildren to follow
And childhood (also adulthood) obesity is as high as it has ever been in the United States.
Go figure.
Now it is time for
I have honestly said this EVERY day.
There has been so much in the news it is hard to keep up with everything, this week.
The Porter Scandal...and subsequent firing.
Porter accused by not one but both his ex-wives of Spousal Abuse and photographs circulating of battered and bruised women.
And, of course, his alleged affair/relationship with Hope Hicks.
Then we find out that a lot of the White House had known for months that he was a wife-beater.
Including this guy
General John Kelly
who chose to follow President Trump's lead and make EXCUSES for him!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Reminding me of a scene out of The Labyrinth.
Sarah: Is that all it does, is smell?
Hoggle: Oh, believe me, that's enough! But the worst thing is, if you so much as set a foot in the Bog of Stench, you'll smell bad for the rest of your life. It'll never wash off
So, I am starting to see the similarities between people associated with The Trump Presidency and The Bog Of Stench.
And I think John Kelly will too, shortly.
A lifetime career in The Marines, and the remains of his honor and credibility gone.
Another woman...this time a Former Playmate...accusing Trump of having a liaison with her just after his son was born and ANOTHER large payoff.
The Mueller indictments of not 1 but 13 Russian operatives...proving that the whole Russia-Election Meddling thing is not the witch-hunt we have been told repeatedly it is.
Real indictments.
Real Handcuffs.
Real Meddling.
And REAL Screwed.
What bothers me the most is that Our Sitting President and Most of the GOP in Congress seem to be having no problem with the whole thing.
WTF????
And yet ANOTHER school shooting. The 18th in school shooting of THIS YEAR.
A 19 year old who couldn't even buy a legal beer...but could buy an AR-15 and several magazines of ammo across a counter like you can pick up a pizza.
17 dead this time.
Everyone immediately sent thoughts and prayers, though...that fixes it...right?
I listen to the students...the parents...the school officials...and 75 percent of America, all demanding action this time.
And I wonder what it will take to make Human Lives more important that NRA Contributions to our GOP lawmakers...if anything.
Vote them all out.
~sigh~
John....looking forward to our day together and Valentine's Brunch at Almost Home this Weekend!
