What A Day

My trip to Evansville was cut a bit short due to a crisis sitch at The Compound:  the a/c went out yesterday afternoon.  The 'Rents said it wasn't entirely that bad last night; they had the windows open and the attic fan on.  Thank goodness for Josh at Prudential HVAC.  He was here from 3:00 till after 7:00, but he got the old Lennox a/c going and it's starting to get in the comfortable range here inside. 

Here Come The Naked Ladies

A Little Good News

I had no idea I would get this good of a deal on gas today, but I sure am glad I did! In case you can't read it because of the glare, I got gas this morning for $1.77 a gallon, thanks to the discounts from my Fuel Rewards Network.  I brought two of our five-gallon cans at home to fill up, too, because I thought I'd get 20 or 30 cents off a gallon, but I never thought I'd get it this cheap!

Happy Birthday, Bugs Bunny

TWIT would like to wish Bugs Bunny a very happy birthday.  That wascally wabbit is 75 years young today. 

 

Happy 45th Annual Contest

Happy Life Day

Happy Life Day, everyone!! It's going to be an awesome Life Day for me. July 26 is the anniversary of my horrible car wreck, and on this day every year I celebrate life. Some might think that's morbid or gross, but on this day every year I celebrate life.

In case you don't know, I was almost killed in a wreck 23 years ago today. I had to have my right foot rebuilt, and was off from work for almost six months. But thanks to the Lord and my surgeon, the only after affects are arthritis in that foot.

Every year on my Life Day, I celebrate life. Today, I will celebrate by being with some of my favorite people - the 'Rents, Diva Stacy, and my church family at WSBC.  Life Day celebrating will continue later this week when I get to spend some time with another one of my favorite people, Ange.

I think back to that evening back in 1992, and want to thank Patty and Michael for being there for my parents - not only on that night, but in the weeks and months ahead during my rehab. I thank Dr. Henry for putting my foot back together, and I thank the Lord for healing, and for giving me the chance to celebrate.

Farmtown 2015 Update

The veggies are coming in hot and heavy here at Farmtown.  This week, the 'Rents picked over two bushels of green beans.  Squash and cucumbers are still coming in, and tomatoes are just now getting ripe.  I'm guessing in a few days, Dad will have his big Tomato Table set up on the back porch.  

Let me note that the 'Rents picked the green beans this week when it was pretty warm and very humid.  And they're 81 years old.  I think that's damned impressive.  

Vacation Eve

As of 2:31 this afternoon, I am on vacation.  I do not have to be back at work until 7:45 on August 3, 2015.   That means for 9 days, I do not have to get up early and do not have to worry about work. Words cannot express how this makes me feel right now. 

Vacay Eve Eve

I am very happy to report that this is Vacay Eve.  Yep.  I am on vacation next week.  So starting tomorrow at 2:30 (Friday is my early day) I will not have to be at work for 9 consecutive days.  Words cannot express how this makes me feel.

I'm not going on any big trips like a lot of friends are; I am just happy not to have to work for the week.  With as crazy busy as I've been the past six months, I sure need a break.  

So just one more sleep and then I am on vacation. Nuff said. 

Bad News Update

After work today, I stopped by the First Choice market - where the mirror incident happened.  I was very shocked when the store manager gave reimbursed me in cash for the amount of my passenger mirror repair.  And I repeated to him that last week I didn't go to the store with the intention of trying to get them to pay for the repair; I merely wanted to see for myself what happened to the mirror.

I can't say enough good things about this store in my work 'hood.  They always have whatever I'm looking for when I stop by; the clerks are always super helpful and happy; and above all, I am in the racial minority when I go in there but I don't feel alienated or out of place, because they always make me feel at home. And let me interject that they have pork roasts on sale today for less than Kroger's had last week (that they gave me a raincheck for).  I wish more neighborhoods had a First Choice store. 

More Confidence In The Future Business Owners

I would like to publicly give a hat's off to Krogers - their customer service people gave me a rain check on one of their more popular items that goes off of sale tonight.  I'm sure this will bore everyone, but we wanted to buy a big Boston butt pork roast, as they were on sale for the crazy low price of $1.49 a pound this week.  But they only had a couple of big 10+ pound roasts tonight when I went to the store.  The guy that had the mad skillz to saw the roast in half had already gone home, so nobody was there to cut the roast in half for me.  So they gave me a rain check for the price.  How awesome is that?  So I'll come back on Saturday morning and get a few pork roasts with my rain check and be happy!

Monday, Monday

I'm happy to report that the passenger side mirror has been replaced, and the old Blazer is back in business.  The fine folks at Senns Body Shop even polished and buffed the old buggy, too.  It was shining like a new one when I picked it up after work. 

Getting the mirror replaced was truly the highlight of my day.  It was crazy busy at work, and if I hadn't looked up at the clock at 4:50, I would have kept on working and would have been without a car because Senn's closed at 5:00.  Yep, that's how engrossed I was in work.

The rest of the week has shaped up to be crazy busy, too.  I'm sure I'll be putting in some extra hours to get everything done in preparation for my much-needed vacation next week.

Farewell, Fancy

This will probably offend some, but anyone that knows me knows that I can't stand cats. I never have.  Now that's out of the way, let me get on with this post. 

It really hurts me to say farewell to Fancy.  She was one of the twin sister Siamese cats that Diva Stacy inherited five years ago.  This would make them about 92 in human years.  

When Diva Stacy first told me she was getting two cats (to which I was allergic to), I had my major doubts.  When I came over on Sundays, I would make sure I had taken my prescription allergy meds and would make sure I had my inhaler handy.  

Fancy could sense that the first time I came over and "met" her that I didn't like cats.  She and her sister made me like them, especially Fancy. She was able to get under the wire. She was the only cat that I would let curl up on my lap, crawl up my shoulder to sit on top of my head, or nuzzle my cheek. I will miss you, Fancy, and I have a feeling your sister will carry on your legacy.

Summer, Hot, Hot Summer

Today is the hottest day we've had so far this summer.  I've been to a total of 4 grocery/big box stores this morning and I'm spent.  The SF's (School Friends) and I will have a conference call in a couple of hours, to decide if we want to go to the Bats game tonight. Sure, we'll just be sitting our seats and sweltering, but still; we might just decide to bail and stay home in our nice air-conditioned homes instead. 

A pop-up storm moved through last night and created some havoc.  The big Forecastle music festival was going on downtown on the riverfront, and they had to evacuate it at about 10:00 last night before the storm moved through.  Of all of the storms we've had in the past week and a half here at The Compound, last night's storm had the most wind.  Luckily all we had was a few chairs blown over, but the neighbor's tree lost a huge limb.  But over all, we're still lucky.

More Bad News, But Not Really

In the past 36 hours, I had to use my handy jump-starter thing 4 times to start my old Blazer.  So this morning I took it sans passenger mirror to the shop to see what was wrong.  I was prepared for the worst - a new alternator.  But it was just the battery.  And it was still under warranty.   So all I had to pay for was a new battery cable and an oil change. 

We're still hoping that the mirror will be in either late today or early Monday so it can be installed and I will be fully functional again. 

 

Thursday Updates

Yesterday was not a good day, faithful readers.  I was very distracted and rattled and didn't post last night.  Reason being, on my way home from work yesterday, I stopped at the grocery store down the road from my office to pick up a few things we needed.  When I got back in the Blazer to leave, I noticed that someone had hit my passenger-side mirror and ripped it off.  It was flopping around, only held on by the wires.  Great.  

I was so frustrated and didn't think much more about it last night, and this morning I called the grocery store and spoke with the manager.  I told him what happened and asked if he could please check the security camera footage to see if they could see someone breaking off my mirror.  He told me to call back later.  I wasn't real thrilled with "Lamont's" attitude.  But before I left work today, I called the store back and "Lamont" had already left, but "Josh" the assistant manager was there.  I told Josh the story, and he asked if I could come by right then and look at the security camera footage with him.  I was there in less than 5 minutes.

We looked at the video, and sure enough, you could see someone hitting and breaking off my mirror.  At first, Josh said for me to submit the bill through the store, and they wound in turn submit it through the property's owner.  But after a few minutes, Josh said forget that, and told me that the store would pay me directly for the mirror repair.  He told me to give him a copy of the bill and they would cut me a check for the amount.  

I ask you - how could you ask for better customer service than that?

Hat's Off

TWIT would like to give a major hat's off to the First Choice grocery store, just down the street from work in The Hood.  I stopped by after work today to get some fried chicken to take home for supper, and received excellent service.  The chicken was freshly fried - it hadn't been sitting there under a light all day.  And they gave me a free four-pack of awesome Hawaiian buns, too.  

I love this store, and visit it at least once a week after work or during lunch, just to patronize a local store.  I always find what I want at decent prices, and above all, I get excellent customer service.  

I wish the country had more First Choice grocery stores.  

Really?

I went to our local Home Depot last night to look for something, and on my way out of the store I saw something that disturbed me enough to get into my purse and put my hand on my pistol.  There was a white Mercedes parked in an end spot, and I was parked next to it.  I saw a guy (whose race will remain nameless) standing between our two cars.  It nerved me up because he was facing toward the driver's door of my beloved Blazer.  As I got closer, the guy turned and walked over and got in his car.  It was only when I got to the door of my Blazer and happened to look down at a puddle on the pavement that I realized what that guy was doing.  

He was in his car, and I was still standing beside my Blazer and I looked at him dead in the eye and said out loud "Really?  You couldn't have made it to the bathroom in the store?"  He just looked at me and then drove off.  

I secretly wished that he had some bad karma last night. That is just uncalled for. 

I'm Having a Stormgasm

It started yesterday afternoon when the weatherazzi started getting us weather watchers in a frenzy about today's big storm.  They predicted we would get not one but three major severe storms today and tomorrow.  So far, we've had one and it wasn't real pretty if you were in the eastern and western part of the county.  Actually it started early yesterday morning, when places in eastern Jefferson County got 5-6 inches of rain in an hour or two.  Luckily for us here at The Compound, we got 3/4 of an inch.  A lot of rain for us, but nowhere near 6 inches like parts of the county got.  But I digress.  The weatherazzi started talking about "hurricane-force winds" with today's storms.  The local TV stations were warning people to charge their cell phones and to make sure they had at least 3 days worth of food and water on hand (something that everyone should have, regardless of the weather, but I digress).  The storm moved through quick this afternoon, and once again, the eastern part of the county got slammed.  Southern Indiana got hit the hardest with truly hurricane-force winds and a lot of damage.  

The next round is expected to move through at around midnight.  I'm hoping that it will weaken by the time it hits us.  But at any rate, we've got the gazebo furniture in the garage, and I just now came back from putting our bird feeders in the garage for the night, lest they should blow away.  Our phones are all charged up, and other than not having a generator for back-up, we're as prepared as we can be. 

Thanks A Lot, Thugs

Starting yesterday afternoon, the weatherazzi began working all of us into a frenzy about the Storm of the Century that they are predicting for tomorrow evening -- 60-80 mph winds, large hail, flooding, tornadoes, etc etc etc.  They said to be prepared for power outages - with all of the rain we've had in the past month or two, the ground is saturated and if we do get the high winds, there will surely be trees down and power lines down.  This is just great, given the fact that some low-life MF-er broke into our garage on Wednesday night and stole our generator. 

The 'Rents last saw it Wednesday afternoon, when they stacked up some bundles of newspapers to be recycled on top of it.  Thursday morning, the generator was gone, and not one thing was out of place or missing from the garage except the generator.  We have thought about this a lot, and we've come to the conclusion that the low-life thief is someone that knew us and knew exactly where the generator was in the garage; it was in the far back corner, and the only way in or out with it would have been the back doors to the garage, that most people don't know about. 

Personally, this makes it much worse.  I feel worse knowing that someone that knew us or that has been to The Compound took the generator than some random thug looking for something to steal to pawn for drug money.  

We do have a bit of consolation.  The generator hasn't been turned on in 10 years, and the tires on it were flat.  So the MF-ing thief/thieves would have had a difficult time lugging it out, and if they tried to start it up, there might have been issues. 

This has made the three of us really mad - knowing that we work hard to have nice things and some low-life comes in and steals them.  

All I can say is that if there is a power outage tomorrow as a result of the storms, I hope that the generator won't work for whoever stole it.  

Hogzilla Update

I am very happy to report that there is one less Hogzilla to terrorize The Compound.  Last night, Dad and Old Thunder (his .410 shotgun) took out a pretty good-sized ground hog that was pretty careless.  The ground hog was just a few feet from the carport, and Dad took him out.  Later on, he and Mom were looking around the The Compound, and found where one of the ground hogs had chewed through some thin plywood that they had put up around the bottom of the Little Red Barn in an attempt to keep the ground hogs from digging under.  At least there's one less ground hog to bother the garden.

Rain, Rain, Stop

Rain, rain, we need you to go away and to stop for at least a week.  Last Saturday, the weatherazzi said that since June 16, we had over 9 inches of rain here in Louisville.  In the week since that report came out, we've had at least 3 more inches.  And we're over it.   The rain can stop and cease for at least few consecutive days any time it wants to.

I don't even need to mention that Dad is worried about Farmtown.  He said that this will be he worst garden he's grown, thanks to all of the rain we've had this spring and summer.  He has always prided himself on having the best tomatoes, but this year, we're at the mercy of the rain.

So Happy It's Thursday

It's Thursday, and I don't have the energy to begin to tell about all that's happened around me in the last 24 hours.  So I'm going to do what any sane person would do:  I'm going to the grocery store right now for some ice cream. 

Stay tuned.

Something You Don't See Every DayI

I went to a Bats baseball game tonight, and while driving down Market Street, one of the busiest streets in downtown Louisville, I saw something that you don't see every day.  A woman was on the right side of the street at a crosswalk, waiting to cross the street.  She was reading a book.  I was stopped at the very long red light and had time to observe, and I never took my eyes off of her; at the same time, she never looked up and took her eyes off of the book.  She managed to cross the street, luckily.  All I can say is that must have been one damned good book. 

Enough, Already

On Sunday morning, the weatherazzi said we had over 8 inches of rain from June 16 to July 5.  I sure believe it.  And I think we've gotten at least another inch or more since then.  Enough already.

On Saturday, I went over to The Boat (aka Horseshoe Casino) and along the way, I pass through a lot of farm land.  The farm land acreage that is planted with soy beans looked more like rice patties in Asia - there was standing water in all of the farm land I passed.  

So it's not going to be a good season for the farmers.  Luckily, we've fared well here at The Compound, but the bigtime farmers are taking a big hit.

And there's more rain and storms in the forecast for tonight.

I repeat -- enough already. 

Mulligan Monday

Can I get a Mulligan today?  In case you aren't familiar with golf terms, a Mulligan is where you get a do-over after you had a golf stroke that failed miserably.  I'd like a Mulligan today.

At lunch, I almost caught the lunchroom on fire.  I had some leftover carry-out pizza in the toaster oven warming up, but the pizza had about three times the normal amount of cheese on it, and it dripped down and hit the heating elements in the toaster oven and caused a yucky smell to drift through the first floor of the office building.  We were never in danger of any real fire, but it sure did smell rank for a bit.

Then, I had to call the IT department to kill my system software that was running because I accidentally started printing out 19,994 pages of a report.  It took about a half an hour of emails and phone calls to the IT people to get this stopped; of course, the printer had run out of paper and I didn't want to put another ream of paper in the printer and have it start spewing out the rest of the 19,994 pages of the report.  But after the IT people told me to unplug the printer, wait ten minutes, and plug it in,  everything was fine.

Then at supper tonight, we were watching the 6:00 news as a block of businesses downtown were on fire.  I sure am glad I stayed away from Whiskey Row or else they would have said it was my fault.

Link Of The Week

With all of the cell phone plan wars going on right now, a lot of people are switching carriers and getting new phones.  It's pretty overwhelming when you start to shop for a new phone.  But this week I found a website that will help you pick out a new phone.  Visit http://www.phonescoop.com.  You can compare a bunch of phones you're interested in and get reviews on them all in order to help you decide which phone you want to be locked into for at least one or two years. 

Happy Birthday, America!!

A Change Of Heart

The other morning, I stopped at McD's drive-thru on the way to work for an Egg McMuffin and my fave Orange Hi-C.  As I pulled on up to pay, and there was on car ahead of me paying.  There was a couple and most likely their son in the car.  They paid for their food, and then I noticed they didn't drive on up to the pick-up window.  They waited for the clerk to come back to the window.  The clerk came back, and I saw her hand the driver (most likely the father/husband) a sales ticket.  Of course, I was growing impatient by the minute. The two of them had a short conversation, and of course, I grew more impatient.  The man handed her his debit card a second time, she handed him another sales ticket and then he drove up to pick up his food.  I finally drove up to the window, and as I was handing my debit card to the clerk, she said "Your order has been paid for by the car in front of you.  Please drive on up to the next window."  

Wow. You read about people "paying it forward" but I never imagined it would happen to me.  I was actually in shock, or else I would have paid for the car behind me to keep the trend going.  After my shock was over, I felt pretty crappy for being impatient as I waited for the car in front of me. But on my next trip to the McD's drive-thru, I paid it forward and paid for the order from the car behind me in line. 

A Star In The West

A month or two ago, the 'Rents and I were out in the backyard just after sundown, watching for the Space Station to fly by.  We were able to see it three times.  Now, we're all into it.  

There's a very cool thing happening right now - Jupiter and Venus are crossing paths, and they will form the Star of Bethlehem. Actually, the actual time they crossed paths was last night, but tonight will still be prime viewing.  The only other time this has happened was over 2000 years ago at the birth of Jesus.  

Look tonight about an hour after sundown in the west for the stars.  If you're able to take some pictures, please email them to me.  We'll do our best tonight to take some pics if it's not cloudy or raining.