A Bit of This and a Bit of That - Missy Celebrates 40 Years Serving the Realm!

It took WAY more time than we had first thought, but we were finally able to get a final email out to our financial consultant regarding allocation of assets after we've passed. At least, the dispersal of income to our various charities. I wrote and sent the email to Corey yesterday afternoon. I have five charities that made my final list: Minnesota Public Radio, The Trevor Project (I've been a supporter of theirs since they only had a phone bank - a very long time ago now), St Jude Children's Research Hospital, the Minnesota State Fair Foundation and the ASPCA. DH had four different charities on his list. He composed the email to Corey yesterday at the shop, and I got it sent out in the afternoon. One more task completed! 

At least that's one task completed. We also got DH's truck 
checked over and winterized at the local car dealership, 
so that's another thing off the list. We're getting there, baby 
steps. Unfortunately, we need to be making more progress on 
the shop, and that's moving too slowly. 

It's a swimming day, and I had a horrid night's sleep. I have a pipe in the basement, almost directly under where I sleep, and it is loud with air pockets on a semi-regular basis. It rattles. Now, I always wear ear plugs, so I'm not waking every time it growls, but it's loud enough that the earplugs aren't always helpful, and it was a night of waking, then sleeping, then waking again. The pipe is going off for about 5-10 seconds every five to ten minutes. It's truly driving me crazy, and I'm not so sure that DH will be able to do anything at all about it. I will, however, attempt to point it out to him before I leave for work because if he can drain the air from the system or assist in ANY way, it would be very appreciated. 

I have no idea what, if anything, can be done to 
eliminate the growling noise from the pipes below 
where I sleep. I don't recall this having been an issue 
in prior years, so this must be a new wrinkle that 
the house is throwing at us. *sigh* 

My friend Melissa was honored last weekend at Renaissance Festival for 40 years of "Service to the Crown" Her daughter received her 10 years of service certificate, and her daughter isn't a whole lot older than that - LOL. I've known Melissa forever, it seems. I remember her as an exciting swordswoman, using a rapier very skillfully against much larger and stronger opponents on the Festival grounds. After having her kids, she settled down a bit and became "Mother Nature" teaching natural sciences and animal identification to the general public. She has a degree in that, and her father was a naturalist as well, so she's got the experience on all sides, and she's got the patience (and the required permits to own and display some of the animal bones and feathers she owns). Bravo for her, though. Forty years of service to the Realm is an achievement not many attain. 

This is the third year for Park and Ride for the Renaissance 
Festival. Parking on the grounds requires purchasing a parking 
pass (which I do every year because I prefer parking on the Fest 
grounds). Having the Park and Ride, however, has been 
FABULOUS and really cut down on the traffic jams in the 
surrounding towns, as well as allowing easier access and 
exits for those of us who pay to park on the grounds. Park and 
Ride is no charge, and there are two different places for 
people to park their cars there. One of which is quite close 
to Mystic Lake Casino, which I'm sure is also a draw. LOL

So I'm going to pay a couple of bills really quickly, and head out to the swimming pool. I think I need to swim off some of this sleeplessness that I experienced all night. Damned pipe! Have an excellent Tuesday and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini.