July 18, 2004

• ***update at bottom —

  
  

  

  
  

  wow. a whole week went by without a word from me on here.

  
  

  

  
  

  Well, somewhere along the line I had a “mind left body experience” — and I am still not sure it has returned. This week has been a bit of a blur for me. The weather has been bad, which is not really a bad thing, since we needed the rain desperately. Where I live is (thankfully) not in the part of New Jersey that has gotten the really bad flooding, although I do have some water in my basement. Needless to say, we didn’t go to camp, not worth the trip to just be stuck in the trailer in the rain.

  
  

  New Toys

  
  

  Last week we bought a new TV, a gorgeous 30″ widescreen Sony HDTV. Our old TV was about 25 years old, had lost some of its colors (grass was always blue) and had to be periodically smacked on the top to stop the picture from flipping. It’s about time we got a new one This purchase was Bernie’s baby, as he is the TV freak in the family (guess it’s a guy thing) He spent months deliberating before finally deciding on this one, with a little prodding from me. I felt that it dodn’t make sense to buy anything but an HDTV, if we were going to put out such a large amount of money, we may as well keep up with the cutting edge technology as much as possible. Of course, an LCD would have been even better (wouldn’t want plasma, they take too much electricity) but way out of our budget! 

  
  

  So we went to Sears last week and he spent his hard-earned overtime pay on this nice new TV, that had to be ordered because it was out of stock. I was out of stock at every store we went to, and even though it was more expensive at Sears, they cheerfully honored their promise to beat any competitors price, so we got it for lower than we had seen anywhere. Pretty good deal, and we had fully expected to have to argue with them about it, so we were really surpricsed when the salespeople said “no problem” and lowered the price. My parents always shopped at Sears (quite often from the catalog when I was growing up) and they really are pretty good in a lot of ways compared to many other stores. We are really disgusted with Best Buy, for instance, due to several unpleasant incidents, but that is another story…

  
  

  So the high point of this week for us was the arrival of the new TV on Friday. Before that, we had to get the electrician to come out and change the old outlets to grounded outlets for both the TV and the computer. I think that not having grounded outlets may have contributed to the demise of my computer and monitor, and also of our old VCR.

  
  

  Kitchen Update/Recap

  
  

  This was the electrician that had been AWOL for so long when we were trying to get our stove hooked up. We finally found out the problem was that he had split from his wife, and she was not giving him his phone messages. So when we got his new number, he came right out and hooked up our stove about 2 weeks ago (it was in the living room for nearly a month) and then last week when he did the outlets, he also put a new flourescent fixture in the kitchen over the sink. Now I have all new appliances, a new floor and lots of light in the kitchen! it is wonderful!

  
  

  So now the remaining things that need to be done in the kitchen are a few minor modifications to the lower cabinets, new countertops and backsplash, a new sink with an under-sink water filtration system (we use a faucet mounted Brita filter now because our well water is a bit too “flavorful” for most folks — I grew up with it so I am used to it) When we get to that part of the project we will also be getting 2 additional outlets over the counter and under-cabinet lighting. But it may be quite some time, because the countertop part of the project relies on another contractor, a friend of ours who is an excellent carpenter. He is the only one we would trust making any changes to our antique cabinetry, but it sometimes takes a year or more to get onto his schedule.

  
  

  Meanwhile, as soon as I get some energy again, I am going to put a fresh coat of paint in the “dining room” side of the kitchen, finish scrubbing down all the woodwork, and wash the curtains. I have to finish the dinette set I started last year, too. I have one chair left to refinish, and the table legs, plus making a new table top out of ponderosa pine to match the kitchen cabinets. I have to wait for the rainy weather to pass before tackling those projects, becaue I will be doing them outside.  

  
  

  Its hard to believe that so many changes have happened in the house in such a  short period of time (just under 2 years). It is so rewarding to be an integral part of these improvements, too, rather than just paying someone to come in and do a complete remodel and redecorate (which we couldn’t afford anyway)

  
  

  More New Toys

  
  

  In addition to the TV, Bernie made 2 more purchases last week while he was on vacation. He got a VCR/DVD to replace the VCR that no longer worked. We still need to get it hooked up. I have an appointment with the cable guy tuesday to finish that, as we gave up trying to figure out the manual that came with the new HDTV cable box we picked up on friday.

  
  

  His other long-awaited purchase is a new digicam. Photography has been a long-time hobby for him, and he has decided to switch over from 35mm SLR to digital photography. His new camera is great. We still have a lot to figure out with it and with the related software, but I think he will be finding his creativity greatly enhanced with the new medium.

  
  

  So where I have been a happy happy music lover, in the aftermath of seeing 3 excellent concerts in one week and meeting my heroes as well (I didn’t mention this in my last blog, but in addition to meeting all the Strawbs after the concert on Wednesday, before Saturday night’s Strawbs concert, bass player Chas Cronk invited me and my friend to share a table with him outside the little tavern next to the theatre. We had a really good time chatting with him and one of the band’s support people for about 15 minutes before the show, and then saying hi to everyone else afterwards, too) Bernie is also a very happy guy, with three new toys to play with. I am so happy to see that he is at least spending some of his overtime earnings on something he can enjoy.

  
  

  Pending Pandemonium

  
  

  Our relative domestic tranquility is soon to be disrupted. In just a few minutes my brother will be arriving with my sister-in-law and two cats. Skip and Barb will be just visiting, but Angel and Ziggy will be moving in. They have sold their house out in York County, PA and are moving to an apartment not too far away from there. They will also be spending a lot of time on the road selling antique price guide books at flea markets, antique shows and festivals (which is part of the reason they decided to downsize their living quarters)

  
  

  Angel and Ziggy are two sisters, twelve-year-old domestic longhair cats that were my nephews’ pets. When the nephews went to college and then subsequently moved into their own places with their girlfriends after graduation, they left the cats with their folks. (a pretty common occurrence as kids grow up and go out on their own) When my brother decided to sell the house, both nephews agreed the best thing to do would be to send the cats on to retirement at Aunt Joannie’s house.

  
  

  This is going to be quite interesting. Our Tommy is 16, and set in his ways. He does seem to like female cats, at least the ones he has seen through the windows or the fence, but is violently opposed to the males. We hope he is going to like these new gals. The dogs, well, they love everyone, and are much smaller than cats, so they will behave. But the real unknown factor is Angel and Ziggy — they have never met a dog!

  
  

  Guess we will find out soon.

  
  

  The color scheme is also going to be disrupted. Angel and Ziggy will be the first fur-folk in this house in ages that are not black. Angel is a marmalade tabby and ziggy is calico. Guess I will bbe soon cleaning up a lot of different color hairs from my floors, furniture, laundry. and everywhere.

  
  

  We have never, ever, had 5 before. Heck, I never had 2 dogs at once till we adopted Pearl 2 years ago. And this has always, always been a single cat household. All five of these critters are getting up there in years, too. Dolly is 9, and Pearl is the youngster at about 6. In just a few years we will be running a home for geriatric pets!

  
  

  So I am sure the next few days (weeks, months?) will be quite an interesting time….

  
  

  

  
  

  ***Update:

  
  

  Well, Skip and Barb have come and gone. We have decided to take the “separate quarters” approach to introducing the new cats to the household. They have been living in my brother’s garage or basement all their lives, so we moved them into our garage (which is far more posh than the average garage, since it is our gym and workspace)

  
  

  Ziggy is wary, but curious. She is curled up in her basket watching everythign, and even got out to sniff around a bit. She is very happy with any attention, purring loudly when we pet her, and taking treats from our hands. I don’t think she will present much of a problem at all.

  
  

  Angel is the scaredy-cat, so she is hiding, as expected. I just went out to the garage to check on them one more time, and they were both standing out in the middle of the garage by their litter pan. Angel darted under the nearest piece of furniture, and Ziggy hissed at me when she first saw me, but then purred and rubbed on my leg when I started to pet her.

  
  

  Tom hasn’t seen them yet, he doesn’t go in the garage often (I don’t let him, because he likes to pee in inappropriate places and my eBay merchandise resides out there) I figure we will introduce him sometime in the next few days.

  
  

  Dolly and Pearl went out to the garage to see what everyone ws doing there, and didn’t pay any attention at all to the cats. They were more interested in the people. When Dolly finally noticed Ziggy in the baskert, she went over to her and tried to give her a kiss on the nose (Dolly’s usual greeting to any new animals) Ziggy hissed at her and swatted her in the face.

  
  

  Fortunately Angel and Ziggy are, like our Tommy, declawed in front. Otherwise we would be a little more concerned with adopting them, for fear they may hurt the dogs. But a clawless slap now and then can’t hurt anything. Dolly was a bit more cautious the next time she went out in the garage. It doesn’t take much for her to get the point. 

  
  

  Pearl finally noticed there was a cat out there, and since she is quite used to Tommy taking pot-shots at her whenever he gets the opportunity (just at Pearl, he doesn’t bother Dolly) she gave this hissy new cat a wide berth. Happy, goofy Pearl doesn’t really care either way, but I know that sooner or later she will try to get them to play with her, just like she does with Tom. Unfortunately the dopey little dog hasn’t figured out that cats don’t have any idea what a play bow is, or all those yippy barks. Beside that, when Tommy finally does join her in a game of chase, he doesn’t play fair — jumping on windowsills and furniture Pearl cant jump up on.

  
  

  So we have no pandemonium yet, but the potential does exist. We will just be taking it slow, and hoping the cats find their place in their new home and family. Since they are used to going outside, we think that letting everyone out in the fenced yard together will be the best way for them all to get aquainted.

  
  

   A Nice, but Brief Visit

  
  

  On the human side of our visit, Skip solved a couple of problems I was trying to work out with projects around the house, and checked out all of my latest completed projects, including the bamboo grove and my faux marble hallway. he absolutely loved my new floors, and said that I did a really good job of picking flooring patterns that looked like they have been in the house all along. Always a difficult thing to do when trying to maintain a certain “look” in an older house. It made me feel really good that I could impress my brother. His opinions and approval have always meant so much to me.

  
  

  Barb took home an aloe plant for the new apartment. I split my big pot of aloe the other day, which had made so many new plants over the years it was pot-bound and overdue for splitting and repotting, in addition to getting waterlogged when I put it outside the other day for a rinse in the rain. I have one pot in my living room, and split off five additional plants. So I told Barb to pick one in a pot that would go with her decor, and just ignore it a while, and hope it grows. They look pretty sorry now, but hopefully getting in new soil and drying their roots out will be enough to make them come back with renewed health and vigor. I plan on giving away the other four plants that are now on my front porch, and just keeping the one that is in my living room.

  
  

  Skip and Barb stayed for dinner, we had green salads, steaks on the grill, and microwaved baked potatoes that Bernie cooked while Barb and I took a ride in the jeep. Skip is thinking of getting a Wrangler, and wanted Barb to test drive ours to see if she liked it. Well, that’s a no-brainer — of course she loved it — what’s not to love about a motorized roller skate that goes just about anywhere? And is a convertible to boot! She even did a u-turn in the middle of the street–not anything she has been able to do in anyof her cars! They have a hard time finding a vehicle they both like, as Skip is 6’7″ and Barb is 5’2″. Skip found out after we got the jeep that he could fit in it just fine (one of the things I like about it — lots of leg room) so he wanted to see how it was for her.

  
  

  I think we may have just created another Jeep person.

  
  

  “…It’s a Jeep thing, you wouldn’t understand…”

  
  

  Anyway, they couldn’t stay very late because they still had to do some more packing and moving at home, and had a nearly 3 hour drive ahead of them. They will be closing on the sale of their house in less than 2 weeks, and still have loads of stuff to move. I keep offering to go out and help, but at this point there isn’t much I could do. Maybe toward the end of the week after a lot more gets packed and sorted, and they just need a schlepper.

  
  

  Both of them are quite tired from all the stuff they have been doing, first in getting the house ready to sell, and now in getting ready to move. They hope that once the move is over, and they no longer have the maintenance of a home to worry about (or the expenses) that they will have more time to relax and enjoy themselves, and to spend more time visiting family.

  
  

  I sure hope so too. I really love my brother and miss him lots.

  
  

  

  • 11:09 pm
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