Pages

Monday, August 11, 2014

Summertime! Schooltime! It's all so confusing!

I think we are pretty solidly still in Summer, but around here, the public schools start next week; so does my son's night school at the community college.  And other places, the start dates seem to fan out until sometime late in September.

In any event, I live near several schools:  2 middle, an elementary, a high school, 2 preschools.  So the start of school means keeping track of time in a more diligent fashion than usual, to avoid the morning minivan crunch and the afternoon kids wandering into the street because that is so hilarious.  Not to mention the sports teams using the nearby park.  Must Avoid Major Street Full of Student Obstacles.

Momcat did not get adopted this weekend, so she is back for more quality fostering!  She has gotten very playful and brave, and she is flirting with Spot the resident cat.  He is flirting back, in his socially awkward way.

Tonight:  another window estimate person, and the bonus of son coming to work on his truck.  Joy squared.

What's the scoop for you?

31 comments:

Liz said...

The joy of being responsible, setting up automatic bill pay, and having it not actually pay the bill.

Grumble grumble grumble.

kathy a. said...

Posse has its first assignment.

kathy a. said...

The power went out! I called 911, because I heard some bangs that might have been up the hill, and we are totally fire zone. They sent a cop by to verify my story. The power company called -- fortunately, we keep that one wired not plugged phone for such emergencies -- and they said 3 hours. Assured my elderly neighbor that the Power Gods said it would be back. AW: only out an hour. But it felt like forever!

I had to go buy a lighter, because our gas stove has an electronic lighting system. And I quit smoking almost 2 years ago.

The End.

Sue said...

Posse on the way Liz!

Power outages make time slow down considerably kathy. It's been proven many times in our home. (Though one time the boys discovered that board games by candle-light can be fun!)

AW: great family visit with my sisters.

W: I may need a vacation from this vacation. Whew!

W: Dad is coming around to the idea of BIL driving his car back to the Southern part of this Massive Province (it's about 26 hours in the car). However, Stepmother is pushing for Dad to drive *with* BIL, which BIL is NOT having.

Meanwhile, the separation is going ahead, though the particulars are not clear at all. Health-wise, Dad is declining - no question.

kathy a. said...

26 hours? omg, your BIL is a saint, Sue. Fergettaboutit, as to Dad going with on that long a journey. Hugs to y'all and Dad.

kathy a. said...

Oh, funny story: the only lighters we had in the house are ones my son bought ~11 years ago at a flea market, and I confiscated them because he was underage, and none of them work anyway. Probably I should clean the junk drawer more often... ;)

esperanza said...

((Sue))

That's annoying, to say the least, Liz.

W: ongoing church crap. Former employee spreading lies. Mr E can't counteract lies because he's honoring confidentiality of personnel matters. All of that is somewhat imaginable. What is painful for our whole family is that people are believing the lies, spreading more of them, leaving the church, etc, all without having any conversation with Mr E himself to hear his side of the story (the parts he can tell).

AW: some of the people who have "left the church"...well, don't let the door hit ya on the way out.

W: to make the decision that attending church is not safe (emotionally, physically, spiritually) for your children is a horrible, awful decision to make.

AW: good friends from out of town who drop what they're doing to take care of Baboos on Sunday morning when we were both working.

Pixies, it's been a loooooooong couple of weeks. They aren't required to vacate the church-provided housing till the end of the month, which seems like a looooooong time to go. Sigh.

kathy a. said...

((( Esperanza ))) oy.

Miranda said...

Tonight, my friends Insonmia and Migraine are throwing a party for me.

Hugs to Esperanza and family.

Miranda said...

And many hugs for Sue and her family.

kathy a. said...

Miranda, hope you get some sleep and some relief. xoxo

~~~

Robin Williams. I mean... Didn't know him, but I liked him and wish it had not gone that way.

kathy a. said...

1. My son came to work on his car last night. As usual, this session lasted 6 full hours. But there wasn't as much swearing as usual, because.....

2. Window estimation guy was there. For almost 3 hours! I started bailing after the first hour, leaving my beloved to take the guy around the house to look at the windows. Which is how he discovered that....

3. Houston, we have a backup in the sewage line. Eeeewwwwwww.

4. Also, no bandaids. Someone, possibly the person who cuts his hands up working on his car, used them all and left several empty boxes in the cupboard. Is the supply fairy supposed to look in each box?

Sue said...

esperanza, that's just so awful. Are there any church officials who can come in and school the congregation in what is actually happening? Sometimes an objective third party can slap the stupid out of people. Either way, hugs coming your way.

((((Miranda)))) the same party happened here last night too. I blame the quick turn from high to low to high pressure weather systems over the past few days. It's been a rough day. Hope you're feeling better.

((((Kathy)))) lots happening at your house! Boo to slow window estimates and Eew to sewer backup. Bleh.

Old Skool nom for lack of band aids. I hate when that happens.

W: Fireplacing migraine.

AW: I had scheduled a massage for today, which ended up being a good thing. My Hands of Steel massage therapist took pity on me and gave me a rare spa-like massage. It was good.

Anonymous said...

AW: Kids are currently playing "Chopped" in the kitchen. For anyone who hasn't seen the show, they get a mix of unlikely ingredients to incorporate into dishes. So far, we had appetizers made from tortillas, hummus, and dried figs. They were delicious! Our entree round must use pasta, mushrooms, asparagus, and ....the twist..... honey roasted peanuts. Best part --they are having fun, and dinner is getting made! (I think!)
If not, we can always order pizza....
--Neighbor Lady

kathy a. said...

((( Sue ))) Can I borrow your massage goddess?

Neighbor Lady -- YAY! That sounds really fun!

Sue said...

NL - what a great idea! Sounds like fun!

kathy a. said...

In further proof that no good comes of home improvement ideas: [a] we are apparently close to family with the window guy, who called with more suggestions; [b] but I really love the rooter guy, who got the job done; and [c] my credit card company decided that paying a deposit on the windows and paying for the rooter guy meant such unusual activity that my account was blocked. Completely spoiled whine of good fortune, and it is cleared up, but wtf?

esperanza said...

NL, that does sound fun! Mini has a penchant for...er...unusual food combinations already (strawberries in ketchup, anyone?)

W: church crap continues, but seems to have eased up a bit.

kathy a. said...

Well, Mini is cute. Annoying chunky crap is not. Although I'd contribute strawberries to the peace project. xoxo

esperanza said...

Have I already whined that my trackpad on the laptop is not working? It's under warranty, but coping with calling the customer service people has been more than I can handle. 95% certain it's a hardware failure, which will require a repair, and I *need* my computer.

kathy a. said...

Oy, Esperanza. Would a mouse be an OK temporary fix?

esperanza said...

Yes a mouse would work. We don't have one hanging around at the moment. The touchscreen is working for *almost* everything.

W: teensy fender bender at grocery store parking lot today, of the "not worth calling the insurance company" variety. Equal fault between me and other party--we both started backing at the same time and didn't see each other.

Liz said...

(((Esperanza))) seems like you just can't catch a break.

Liz said...

Minor whine: there is an intermittent and inconsistent squeak, or a beep, or maybe a chirp in my office, and we can't find where it's coming from.

kathy a. said...

Oh, Esperanza. xoxo

Liz, how ANNOYING.

Sue said...

kathy, that's annoying with the credit card company. On the other hand, it's good to know they take note of "unusual activity."

(((esperanza)))

SO annoying Liz! Squeaks, beeps, and other mystery sounds are quite awful.

Queen of West Procrastination said...

So many hugs to esperanza and family. That whole situation is just awful.

And hugs for Sue and family. That's wonderful that BIL is making the twenty-six hour drive. (Sometimes I forget how huge your province is! I'm pretty sure that if I tried to drive twenty-six hours, I would end up in the territories! That is, if we had continuous highways that far north.)

W: how has this vacation gone by so quickly? And we're definitely getting pretty worn out here.

AW: it's gone better than expected. It's really nice staying in our old home, especially since my cousin gave us the run of the place. It still feels like home.

Over here, we've been glued to the news in the US, over the past few days. I spent many of my childhood summers in the suburb just over from Ferguson, and it's been surreal and horrifying seeing it looking like a police state.

esperanza said...

Liz, we had a mystery clicking sound last night. Ob.Nox.Ious. We might consider arming the Posse with a variety of mystery noises.

AW: visited with the neighbors/church members at their pool this afternoon, and no one mentioned the Big Fat Church Deal.

Further AW: Mini is *rocking* the swimming, and Sweet is not far behind.

Sue said...

esperanza, I'm so glad your neighbours didn't invite the BFCD to their pool yesterday. It's so nice when folks give you a break from the drama. Yay for the Baboos and the swimming!!!!

kathy a. said...

Yes, about a drama-free pool party!

kathy a. said...

QWP, sounds like a lovely vacation!

The news from Ferguson has been awful. It sounds like they have made some wise changes -- maybe not treat peaceful demonstrations like military operations?