The Tiles are here, The Tiles are here!

Posted on November 28, 2014November 28, 2014 by Dusty Roads

All the turkey and cranberry done and back to real life.

The Tile Guy called at about 9:30 am this morning to say he was on his way! When he arrived he had a whole bunch of tiles. I guess when I made my selection it came with a 3 inch border and then a twisty cap. Very pretty but it wouldn’t look right with the 3 inch lip the counter top people put in. So I decided to get rid of the twisty part and (sadly) the 3 inch trim. I really love that trim but it just doesn’t look right. (Sigh)

Just the back splash please.

The poor guy has a lot of repair to the wall to make. It was really gouged when they tore out the old yellow tiles. That has slowed him down somewhat but we are making progress.

It occurred to me last night as I sat in a turkey stuffed stupor that the kitchen came out close to the color I had planned for the bedroom. Now I’m not sure if I want the bedroom green after all. That could be a little too much green in such a small space. I will give this more thought once I get the house back together. Maybe a light blue?

My friend Jamie gave me another idea for the soffit area. I mentioned I might stencil some vines or something there and he suggested those signs you can get from the craft stores .

My personal favorite so far is ” A messy kitchen is a happy kitchen and this kitchen is delirious”

Another good one: “Kitchen Dinner Choices- Take it or Leave It”

I could get real tacky and put a neon “Eat” sign up there. Maybe even make it flash on and off???

How ’bout “I only have a kitchen because it came with the house.”?

But there are lots to consider and chose from.

Tile Guy will be back tomorrow at 9 AM to remove the placers and grout the tiles then I just need the microwave to arrive.

Once that is installed this project will be done…except for some painting that I will now need to step up to do.

I Was Just Thinking

Posted on August 19, 2014August 19, 2014 by Dusty Roads

I still haven’t felt up to going out and about much which is a big reason I haven’t posted much this summer. I think in addition to “feeling poorly” that I’ve also been a little “down in the dumps”. I’ve been lazy. But I admit I perked up when my last two posts of Buddy got some attention. I thought sure I’d neglected things for so long that no one would be paying any attention.

That got me thinking about things that have been in the news lately. First of all was the Robin Williams Suicide. So so sad. Of course it brought out all of the well meaning people who want to use Robin’s death as a call to arms to prevent other suicides. I guess if it helps save someone else then that’s ok. But I feel more for the man and all the demons he has battled. I think his recent diagnosis of Parkinson’s may have been the last straw. He just didn’t have it in him to keep fighting. RIP Robin Williams. You have earned a rest.

And what’s up with Ferguson, Missouri? I missed the beginning of this disaster. I just turned on the news one night and thought I was watching riots in a 3rd world country, not right here in the good old US of A. Are we back to the Civil Rights days? I gather that a white police officer shot and killed a black teenager. The police officer is on paid suspension while his world is exploding. No matter what I read I can’t get a handle on what happened here. A call for a sick person and a call for a robbery. Someone says Brown (the teenager) attacked the officer but another account says the officer was in his cruiser when he fired the first shot. The teenager was unarmed. He was shot 6 times. It sounds terrible. It is tragic. But haven’t we gotten past the riots and looting? Black or white, that doesn’t help anyone.

Is the Market Basket saga news to anyone besides people in Massachusetts and New Hampshire? A family owned business fired it CEO and almost all of the employees of it’s chain of grocery stores (Market Basket) walk off the job. The chain is losing tens of thousands of dollars while this dispute rages but the rift in the family is so bitter that they can’t come to any agreement. I think they are in the 5th week of this battle. The ousted CEO has offered to buy the chain of stores but no one can come to an agreement and the strike goes on. I don’t know the inner dynamics but from the outside looking in it seems we have a case of biting the nose off to spite the face. No matter what, the family is not going to let the ousted cousin win. They’d rather bankrupt the business.

What a sad, sad state of affairs. 🙁

Still Alive

Posted on July 26, 2014July 26, 2014 by Dusty Roads

Hi everyone. I’m still alive and kicking. I think I hit the “painful” stage of the shingles. The more the rash heals (its almost gone) the more I have the “phantom” pains. They are like they are buried deep and the “cramp” starts in the lower abdomen and runs around my side to my lower back. One friend of mine said they sound like contractions. Since I’ve never given birth I can’t speak to that. Some are fairly mild but then one will hit that doubles me over and takes my breath away. Also can’t stand my clothes rubbing on my waistline. The doctor took pity on me and gave me lidocane patches. They help some but don’t eliminate it completely.

But speaking of doctors, mine is doing something that really concerns me. Her office has been making appointments for me without asking me first. Last week it was with the physical therapist who had the good sense to call me. PT is on the agenda and we found a time that worked.

Yesterday I got a letter telling me they made an appointment for me with an eye specialist. I already had my annual eye exam and the specialist they made it with is terrible. I went to him once and will never go back again. Of course it’s the weekend so I can’t make my feelings known until Monday. Maybe that’s a good thing because right now I’d probably yell at them. I think they are being very presumptuous. I need to nip this trend right now!

I am not senile and I am quite capable of handling my own appointments. I could understand the PT. My doctor told me they would be calling but this eye exam…not gonna happen.

Well a friend of mine had a birthday this week so I’m going to try to have a nice lunch with her. Fingers crossed my aches and pains behave.

Sunday Morning Thoughts

Posted on June 22, 2014June 22, 2014 by Dusty Roads

It’s a beautiful Sunday morning. I had big plans but am I out there “getting it done”? No I just dragged my sorry butt out of bed. It’s not that I wasn’t awake early. I was awake at my normal time and even if I hadn’t been within 15 minutes of my “normal time” my fuzzy back-up alarm arrived.

No, I spent half the morning in bed because I guess I over-did it yesterday. My left hip and my lower back are dictating my activities today.

So Rocky’s persistence and 3 extra strength Aleve got me moving a little. After a hot shower I felt a little better or maybe it’s the pain killer kicking in. Buddy arrived right on schedule to get his morning blow dry. One of these days I’ll have to set the camera up on the tripod and take a picture of this. I’ve never had a cat that liked a blow dryer so much. Even when I had a Persian who was blow-dried every six weeks all his life, he merely tolerated it.

So then I log onto Facebook and what do I see…a whale breaching on the Captain John FB page….from the 9 am trip yesterday. I can’t seem to pick the right trip at all!

With such a late start I think I’ll concentrate on some housework while I work out a plan B. So I’m doing laundry and pretty proud of that. There is a painful obstacle between me and the laundry room. Stairs. I remember being able to run up and down them with no problem. That was before this “Hip thing” which only seems to be getting worse. Oh well, there are many people who are worse off than me so I’ll just limp my way through it.

Then I plan to mop the kitchen floor. Actually I scrub it on my knees so with the hip acting up, that should be interesting. Once that’s all done I’ll make a quick trip to the grocery store and then I’ll be free to go looking for something interesting to share with you.

You see I’m always thinking of what might interest you. I’m still trying to keep up these pages in spite of work getting in the way.

Friday the 13th, Full Moon or Poltergeists?

Posted on June 14, 2014June 14, 2014 by Dusty Roads

Yesterday was Friday the 13th and they say there was a full moon too. I couldn’t tell you because it was raining. I guess I better plan to live a while longer. The next time we have a full moon on a Friday the 13th it will be 2049. I’ll only be 98. I can live that long.

So full moons bring out the “crazies” and Friday the 13th is bad luck, right? Then today must have been a doozie!

I was working from home today. For once it was kind of quiet. I provide support to 3 real estate agents. One is a big producer. The 2nd one is new and is still very lightly loaded for work and one is just starting a new territory so not much going on there. My busy agent took the day off so I was using the quiet time to catch up on paperwork.

I was just updating the computer when I found myself in the dark (or maybe gloom). The lights went out but not all of them. The Cable box went dark but the computer was still working, Rocky’s heat lamp was still on but the ceiling fan shut off??? I checked the circuit breakers. All fine. I flicked them off and back on just in case. Nothing. My neighbors were all fine. Then everything came back on except the desk lamp. That bulb was black but even a new bulb could not get the light back on. Another lamp bites the dust.

Back in business I became aware of a persistent squeaking noise. I thought it might be the ceiling fan so I shut it off. Still squeaking. I looked outside (my slider was open) but it wasn’t coming from outside. The weird part was that there was nothing where the sound was coming from.

I turned switches on and off and wandered from living room to bedroom to bathroom and back. I checked the refrigerator and the fan over the stove. The sound only got louder. It was starting to bother the cats now as well as me. They were pacing. What could it be?

Finally I started picking up cat toys in the area where the sound was the loudest and that’s when I found it. One of the battery operated cat toys would not shut off. I dug the sound box out of the mouse and tried to smash it with a hammer. It just squeaked louder; now more like a squeal. I finally pried the battery compartment open but it still wouldn’t shut off. I eventually silenced it by cutting the wires to the battery. Now I know what Silence is Golden really means!