LJ Idol is Starting and Framing - It Will Become My Nightmare

LJ Idol is starting up again, and I've got the first prompt working. I really don't have time for Idol right now, but I'm still going to try, because it feeds a creative spark within me. It's challenging, but it's also time-consuming and it's time that's my enemy right now. There simply isn't enough of it available if we're going to be out of business later this year. 

I love the challenge of LJ Idol, but I also know that I'm 
squeezing it into a very small amount of "free" time that 
I'll have over these next few months. I might not be able 
to participate with the focus that I really would need for 
success, but I at least have to try and hang out with my 
fellow writers for another round. 

For most people, leaving a job is just that. You turn in your notice (or storm out the door), clear out your desk or workspace, go to the bar for a couple of drinks (optional, of course), and head home with the knowledge that everything in your life has shifted once again. The surface upon which you stood has become icy and steep; the paycheck with which you were paying your household expenses is no longer a guarantee. It's scary - I've been there several times. 

I've quit a few jobs in my life. Let me tell you ... it's 
a LOT easier to quit a job that to get out of business 
if you're a business owner. It's a bit of a 
nightmare (actually, a LOT of a nightmare). 

In many ways it's even more frightening when you're closing down a business that you've run for more than thirty years. DH is working extremely hard - looking in all the odd corners to make sure we're finding everything that can be sold, making sure it's in condition to be sold, and lining up tasks that I need to do which will allow other items, (a bit less close to salable condition), to be brought to that state. 

There are a lot of components that go into 
framing some pieces of artwork. I have well over 
100 pieces that need to be backed, and many of 
them also need to be framed. *sigh*

For instance - artwork. Our store was heavily into art. I sold a lot of it at my Mall of American store, and most of my Native American friends were graphic artists. We've accumulated a lot of artwork for sale - both originals and prints of various kinds. Many of these need to be mounted and shrink wrapped for sale. DH is photographing everything - we'll probably drive a truckload of items down to our auction house (if this upcoming auction goes well). There are a lot of "if's" and "when's" and "how's" in our lives right now. But I'll be spending days in the framing room working with loose art, as well as working at home with my mat cutter. 

I have two huge racks of mat corner samples 
that DH will start looking through to find what 
colors should go with what art pieces. I'll let 
him do that. He's got a decent eye, and I have 
other things I'll need to be doing. 

I professionally trained as an art framer and I've framed a lot of artwork, but not in the past 10-15 years. I'll be getting my feet back under me once again. I'll start with some of the smaller pieces, just to get my hands back into the process. There were a couple of supplies we were short on, but our local art supply company had what we needed, so I'm set to go now. I may have to give up my Fridays to work on shrink wrapping and framing. It won't make me happy, but that's a real possibility. And, of course, that leaves little time for LJ Idol, but ... I'm going to try anyway. What's one more thing on my plate, after all! Right? LOL Have an excellent Tuesday, I'm off to the pool to work off some of this stress. Slava Ukraini. 

Second Verse, Same as the First

Continuing with my jury saga (and a saga it is indeed turning into), ALL unassigned jurors were called in to the Jury Duty room for an 8:30- am time on Friday. There were 59 of us assembled there, many taking advantage of the department's generosity at providing fresh coffee, orange juice and a lovely selection of donuts, both filled and cake. I had my herbal tea so I was just fine. 

It was very kind of the Jury Duty Office to provide beverages 
and sweets for us. Having all of us called in was quite 
unusual - usually they don't deal with prospective 
jurors (or only a minimal number) on a Friday. 

Shortly before 9:00 am we were all gathered by roll call and accompanied our Court Clerk to the 12th floor. We gathered in every seat throughout the courtroom and listened to the Judge explain what the case was about and how she was going to conduct the trial. In my previous case, there had been a single lawyer for the defense and only one for the prosecution. Here, there were two lawyers for the State and two lawyers for the defendant; three of the four lawyers were female (which doesn't really make any difference, I just found it interesting). The defendant was a heavy-set black man with his hair in short dreads. I didn't get a frontal view of him, so have no idea of his age or demeanor. 

We were given a bare basic description of the case and told to move to a room down the hall to fill out an extensive questionnaire, before returning in smaller groups on Tuesday to meet with the lawyers and the judge for more extensive questioning and perhaps some one-on-one questions. 

I was shocked and dismayed at the basic outline of the 
current case which I might be hearing, and I'm quite 
sure my feelings were shared by most, if not all, of 
the potential jurors. 

Why all of the extra stuff? Well, it turns out that this case deals with the sexual abuse of a young girl under the age of thirteen supposedly assaulted by the Defendant. We weren't told anything more than that, but my friend from my former case, Miki, whispered that she had told them she refused to be on the jury of any sexual abuse cases. I told her to write it down on her questionnaire, and we all left for the other empty courtroom, where I sat in an attorney's chair and one of my other acquaintances from the former trial took the judge's chair. Every chair and some spots on the floor were occupied by the 59 of us filling out our multi-page questionnaires. 

The questions were tough - very detailed and wanting specifics from each juror on their feelings, their opinions and their personal experiences. A woman behind me went into hysterical weeping and finally had to be removed from the room by the Court Clerk, for a private discussion. I'm pretty sure she's already been dismissed. I also know there were at least two people who had  airplane tickets for vacations that were starting next week that were probably also dismissed. (The first of the two had tickets for a Tuesday morning flight). The rest of us will gather on Tuesday at one of three times, 20 per group. 

No, I'm not off Jury Duty yet. I'm being 
extended into next week, starting on Tuesday 
since Monday is a holiday in the USA. That 
creates all kinds of problems for the shop, 
and requiring me to be at the court by 9:00 
am is also problematic. 

This is already getting a little long, so I'll continue this on Monday morning. I hope you have an excellent day and a good weekend. Slava Ukraini. 

OMG and Bleh! - That's The Way I'm Feeling Today

Oh goodness, I still am amazed that I forgot to post yesterday (until really late in the afternoon). It's so out of character for me. Over the years I've posted six days every week for a very long time, my only breaks coming when I was out of town for a convention or a seminar. Well, thanks again to Sam for asking if everything was OK with me since I hadn't posted. I truly wouldn't have realized that I had missed the day if she hadn't asked. 

I don't miss a day of posting - not without a good reason. 
I don't, however, think that leaving my brain behind 
while I went to the Orthodontist and the grocery store 
was a legitimate reason. I messed up! Pure and simple. 

DH came home in a terrible mood yesterday - no real reason that I could tell and he wasn't talking, so the cause is a mystery. I suspect it was a poor sales day at the shop, which doesn't really surprise me. Our sales have been decreasing since people have become more comfortable with on-line shopping, and there is a bead show in town next weekend that many of our customers attend. 

The Twin Cities Bead Bazaar is next weekend. I'm 
quite sure some of my customers will be shopping 
there. DH's only comment was "Why we not sell?" 
in a text message. Of course, he's never been the 
one who sold off-site - it was always me for the 
few times we've done it. I have NO desire to do 
this. I might consider it after we've closed, to clear 
out more inventory from any leftover stock, but 
no. Not doing this now. 

He had left me a note on the counter - "Taxes Tonight" - both to remind me and to remind himself. So, I settled down to do the state withholding and unemployment reports last night. The withholding was no problem and accomplished quickly. The unemployment, however, had totally changed. The state altered and revised the on-line form, asking for one additional piece of information that he didn't have with him. We'll have to do that one tonight instead. However, he was all "You should have known to bring that information with you!" to me. I, on the other hand, am not prescient. I only go on to that website every quarter, and obviously it was seriously altered since the previous quarter's report. I seriously don't understand why it is MY fault that the state changed the form and required one more piece of data. But apparently, in his twisted mind, that's exactly what's wrong. It made for an ugly and nasty evening. 

We have to fill out an on-line form quarterly 
for the MN Employment dept regarding 
unemployment funds deposited for each 
employee - funds taken out of their 
paychecks (state law). The form has been 
the same for years and years. Not this 
time, though. They'd revised the form 
and suddenly I needed one additional piece of 
information. He didn't have it in his paperwork, 
so we had to pass on this one until tomorrow. 

So, today I will gather the last bit of information needed and we'll try again tonight. It shouldn't be a problem to get it done within five minutes once I have it. Will I be forgiving him for another really crappy mood day? I'm not so sure about that. I'm getting really tired of tiptoeing around his moods. He's not aging well, and I'm getting sick and tired of putting up with it. Bleh! 

I find it a minor inconvenience to have to put the 
one form off until tonight. Apparently DH considers 
it a world-shaking event that will color his days in 
darkness until the end of time! Bleh! I say ... Bleh! 

Have an excellent day, enjoy the sunshine (if you get some today) or the weather in general and give yourself some time to do something you truly enjoy - read a book, listen to music, dance or exercise. Celebrate your life - it's the only one you get. I'll be back on Monday. Slava Ukraini. 

A Plethora Of Soups in a Very Late Post! Mea Culpa - I Messed Up!

 Shame on me. I was in a rush this morning, with an 8:30 appointment at my orthodontist to get one of the spacers replaced that had fallen out. My mind was 1000 miles away, and I completely got caught up in what I needed to get done today, and I didn't post. 

The roasted carrot soup recipe is creamy 
and wonderful. It does need a blender 
for the final step, so that's a necessity. 
If you want to look at the recipe, it here: 
https://cookieandkate.com/roasted-carrot-soup-recipe/

That's extremely rare for me. Usually it only happens when I'm on "vacation" - trade shows, seminars, trips out of town, etc. None of that applied. My brain just saw a rabbit hole and jumped down it, forgetting to poke back up into the real world once again. 

The roasted Butternut squash soup recipe makes 
an incredibly smooth, rich soup that's just 
amazingly good. This one really requires a 
blender of one type or another, and I was really 
glad I have a workhorse of a blender because 
it pushed it a bit. Here's the link if you're 
interested in this one. 
https://cookieandkate.com/roasted-butternut-squash-soup/

Good news, though. When they were able to see me at the orthodontist, she had no problem putting the rubber spacers between my teeth, and replaced the last metal spacer I had with one as well. So now I don't have any of the metal spacers at all, just the rubber ones that are much more comfortable and less intrusive. I felt so good about that, I grabbed my shopping list and headed to the grocery stores I had on my agenda. 

I also bought the ingredients to make this 
soup. I'll make it next week. It's called a 
Creamy Avocado Soup and it looked 
very tasty indeed. Here's the recipe if 
you're interested. 
https://www.theendlessmeal.com/avocado-soup/

Six non-dairy yogurts, lots of broth (Vegetable and Chicken) and a bunch of veggies later, after my second store, I was ready to start cooking. Originally I had planned on today being an Etsy day, but I needed food for my dinners, etc, since I would like to stay on a soft diet until the actual bands get installed on November 2nd. I had recipes and ingredients enough for four soups. I ended up making two today - a roasted carrots soup and a roasted Butternut squash soup. My blender got lots of work with both of them - the first "real" workout it's had since I purchased it. It performed like a dream. 

I can hardly wait to make this recipe. It's for a soup 
called "Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Soup" and it 
uses all natural ingredients. You broil the peppers, then 
add everything together in the blender. I'll use the 
"soup" setting for this one and it's going to be 
fantastic. Interested in this recipe? Here's the link. 
https://downshiftology.com/recipes/roasted-red-pepper-tomato-soup/

So I now have 4 portions of carrot soup and three of squash soup in my refrigerator. They're really different recipes, and both are wonderfully flavorful and really, really tasty. I'm already looking forward to my soup tonight. 

The last soup I got ingredients for is this one - it's 
called "Ten Ingredient Alkalizing Green Soup" and 
it starts with cooked green peal, then adds fresh 
spinach leaves, some celery and parsley, a bit of 
cilantro, some garlic and miso, a tablespoon of 
nutritional yeast, coconut cream and water. I have 
everything except the miso, but since I didn't get 
to this one today, I have time to look for that. I could 
always substitute soy sauce if needed. Interested 
in this recipe? Here's the link. 
https://www.punchfork.com/recipe/Ten-Ingredient-Alkalizing-Green-Soup-101-Cookbooks

So, as you can tell, I was quite busy this morning. For those of you who arise and expect to see a post from me, mea culpa. I totally messed up. But you're getting one now -  late. Thanks so much to Sam for asking if I was OK. I truly didn't even remember that I hadn't posted! Wow - silly me - LOL. Slava Ukraini and I'll be back tomorrow - I promise! 

Audio and Video - Audio for Streaming and Video of Our Tree Saga

Today I'm sending DH to the shop with two different types/sets of headphones/earbuds. Chickie will talk him through getting them recognized by his phone and tablet. He's discovered the joys of streaming on Peacock, and wants headphones so that he can hear "Longmire" with greater ease after I've gone to sleep. I'm a headphone/earbud junkie - I have a lot of different sets - many for swimming, others not. I chose two for him - my spare set of underwater AfterShokz, and a set of HUB ear buds that are magnificent, but I prefer my OlyDance bone inductions instead when I'm not using my AfterShokz. 

I love my AfterShokz OpenSwim bone induction 
headphones. The best I've ever used in the pool and on 
the treadmill. I have two sets, because when one didn't 
work properly, I immediately ordered a second set on 
overnight shipping. Meanwhile their customer service 
department sent me instructions for resetting the device, 
which I did when DH was looking for headsets. I think 
he'll like them as much as Chickie, ChickieMama and I 
do (I've managed to convert everyone over to using 
AfterShokz - although they aren't using the underwater 
model). 

I use my AfterShokz for the pool. I load up my audiobook of the period onto them using a convoluted, semi-legal method, and then I'm set for 11-13 hours of swimming before I need to download and upload the next volume in the series. This particular series I'm in has more than 20 volumes, so I'm set for the year - LOL. 

My HUB ear buds are excellent - great sound 
reproduction, enormous battery power, very 
compact design - basically it hit all of my 
buttons. But ... this fancy case? It's really hard 
to open and close. I always have to fight 
with it. So I'm giving these to DH also - he can 
see what he prefers - buds or bone induction. 

I got the HUB earbuds on Indigogo - I buy a lot of things via them. It was a good price, and they are a quality product, but I really don't like their case. It's all inclusive and a sharp design, but it's also a PITA to open to get to the buds themselves. The buds give excellent sound, but I decided they weren't worth the trouble I had to go through to open and close the damned case. So, I'm giving them to DH instead. He can figure out which style of earpiece he wants to use. He might use both of them. That's fine. They're his now. 

When DH came into the upper back yard, this is what 
confronted him. A huge branch had broken from our 
neighbor's Silver Maple tree and fallen directly into our 
upper yard. 

Silver Maple trees can grow 50-80 feet tall. 
His tree is massive. I can't estimate the 
height, but it's BIG. 

I haven't told you about our tree saga. As many of you know or may remember, I have a LOT of trees on my lot. But the tallest tree in the neighborhood belongs to my next door neighbor, Chris. His Silver Maple is huge and extremely tall. Silver Maple trees can grow to a height of 50-80 feet, and his is definitely in that upper category. On Tuesday shortly after noon, I got a message from DH: "Have time go out and see if it was our tree of Chris's that just made big boom. Thank goodness it didn't take out power." He sent a photo of a HUGE branch that had fallen off the maple into our upper yard, barely missing our crabapple tree and the fence between our yards. 

I'm just going to give some photos of the 
tree. Here, you have our crabapple, a tree we 
dearly love, and the branch barely missed it. 
DH did say that it had smashed a younger 
crabapple that he had been growing nearby, though. 

Chris and DH worked for an hour or so to brace the 
fallen branch so that it would be stable until it
 could be removed. That evening, DH was 
mumbling BS to me about being able to remove 
it himself, if he could get it braced correctly, but 
I told him - "Not our tree, not our problem. Let 
Chris handle this one - it's his responsibility." 

The guys braced the tree so that it wouldn't move until the arborist Chris was going to call could come, look at it, and then take the fallen limb apart. I spoke to Chris the next morning and the arborist came at the same time, so he, I and the Rainbow Tree guy spent almost a half hour looking at the damage and figuring out the best way to approach the cleanup. Chris' insurance won't pay for it of course, because it didn't cause any property or home damage, but he'll pony up and pay for the removal, which is only right. It is his tree. He'll drop a couple of the fence panels to allow easier access, and the tree guys will start removal on Monday. It's a bummer that we both have to work that day, but it's probably for the best - DH won't be able to hover - LOL. 

Amazingly enough, the fencing was 
completely untouched. That's a six-foot 
fence, and that branch extends WAY above 
that. It's unsafe for DH to do any cutting, so 
the professionals will take care of it on 
Monday, and Chris will pay for it. His tree, 
his responsibility. (I might sneak him a 
hundred or two - he has three kids in private 
school, so this is a financial blow, I'm sure). 

One last overview. You can see the bracing at the 
end of the branch, helping to keep the whole thing 
stable until next week. It should be OK unless we 
get tornado-level winds. Chris said he's going to 
drop a couple of the fence panels to allow easier 
access to our yard, and the tree dudes will start on 
Monday, hopefully finishing within the day. 

So that was our excitement this week. It's always something - if not an appliance breaking, then a windstorm, or a tree. Life is always unpredictable and it would do us good to remember that - LOL. As for me ... I had a lot of fun writing on the dark side for the current story, and have been thanked for putting down the warnings of trigger possibilities. I enjoy writing gritty. Maybe I'll have another opportunity in future to explore the dark side once again. In the meantime, however, it's Friday, it's my ONLY day off this week, and I have a slate of things I need to do today that's as long as my arm. So I'm out of here. Have an excellent Friday and Slava Ukraini. I'll be back tomorrow. 

Yesterday Was a Cluster F**k - Computer Issues and a Long Day

Yesterday was a complete clusterf**k in every sense of the word. I did get a great swim, two loads of laundry done, and my groceries purchased, but ... but ... but. 

I run an ancient computer system for 
my cash register and inventory. When I 
wanted to upgrade, they quoted me 
$15,000! Well, that was a firm "NO" 
from me - we simply didn't (and don't) 
have that $ available. So we've been 
limping on with computers from the 
1990's that run Win 98. 

I had purchased mostly frozen items from Whole Foods, so I put them in my Chiller box in the trunk because I was going to continue buying my fresh produce, etc at my neighborhood grocery before heading home to start my second load of laundry and work on whatever I had planned for the day. On my way home from the store, however, I had a quick look at my phone when it went "tweet" and immediately pulled into a nearby parking lot to take a closer look. DH was at the shop, had turned on the computers, and was receiving a "Blue Screen of Death" that I had never seen before. I texted that I was on my way and reversed my direction. 

I've never seen this particular Blue Screen of 
Death before. It said "VFAT Device Initialization 
Failed" ... "A device or resource required by 
VFAT is not present or is unavailable. VFAT 
cannot continue loading. System halted." 

As it turned out, I couldn't do anything with that screen either, so I called my Computer Guru, Dale, and described things to him. He had me try several things, but it was a no-go. It just didn't work. So, we were going to be stuck with handwritten sales slips until the computer could be repaired. I disconnected the main computer, loaded it into my car, and drove it into the northern suburbs to Dale's home. The computer was nestled between my two large bags of groceries and my chiller box. 

So Dale set it up on his bench and tried a lot of things, also getting nowhere. He felt he was accomplishing something, though, and I had frozen items in my trunk that were going to start defrosting, so I finally left him around 1:30-2:00  pm and returned home. He continued working on my hard drive in the meantime. 

I run Windows 98 2nd Edition on my store 
computers. It dates from the time I had my 
third store at the Mall of America. It's really 
hard to fix older systems like this - the information 
is buried so deep. 

My groceries survived the experience quite well, which amazed me. I was able to start my second load of laundry and get my first load into the dryer. I was home for maybe 1-1/2 hours and Dale called, said he'd gotten things up again. I had already gotten my first dryer load put away, but hadn't had a chance to make anything with the food I had. But I put everything back into the refrigerator and headed back north. I picked up the computer and paid him (a very reasonable amount of money), then headed to the shop. 

When I set up the computer, suddenly although it was turning on correctly, etc, it wasn't communicating with the slave computer which is our computerized cash register. After another hour on the phone with Dale, I told him I was packing both computers into my car and bringing them over to him. He asked me to bring the software and documentation, so I grabbed a bag of floppy disks (yes, the computers are THAT old), both CPU's and headed back north. Now it was 5:30 pm and I had already missed my phone call with Aearwen and most of my day. I was with Dale until shortly after 7:00 pm, and my computers are still with him. Hopefully he can find some time today to get this resolved. No guarantees. 

I had two containers of Nada Moo in my 
chiller box, along with other frozen items. 
They actually survived really well, despite 
being in the car for more than four hours. 

I finally got home shortly before 8:00 pm. DH said he'll work for me today so that I can have an actual "day off:", and I really appreciate that because I'm a wreck. I need the computers to hang on for the rest of the year, and there's no guarantee they can do that. They still work, but they have to communicate within the sales register program. We should be getting a shipment from a vendor into the store today, and we won't be able to receive it or generate price tags, do price changes, or check product history without the computer. I suspect you could hear my sileng "ARGH" to Toledo, Ohio. 

I really need my "day off" today, and I really need to work off some of this frustration in the pool today, so I'm wrapping this up and heading out to the gym. I really hope you have a great Thursday, and if all is well, I'll have better news for tomorrow's blog. Be kind, think peace, and do a random act of kindness today. We all need that. 

Positives and Negatives - Yes ... Something Else Broke and It's a REAL Mess

My life is a series of ups and downs. Yesterday was exemplary for that description. After awakening and getting dressed for Renaissance Festival, we had enough time to play LOTRO on the computer for an hour before loading into the car and heading out. Our goal was to actually be at the gates for opening this time, so we left earlier than we had last week, and remembered the revised route for us to find the Festival grounds (we also didn't get delayed by a freight train - always an improvement for efficient time management). 

My shirt is seriously oversized, so it doesn't 
look great with the corset, but the corset itself 
looks pretty good. At least from the front. I 
really liked it - a lot more than previous years. 

We spent a lovely day at Fest. I made semi-wise food choices - not horrible, but also not sterling. Still, I was pretty happy with them. Once again I was looking for a new corset - those I already own are for the me at least 20 lbs (or more) over my current weight. My usual go-to had four (4) in my size and we didn't like any of them enough to even bother trying them on. Eventually we decided to check out Artemis - full leather, swing-clip fastening, lifetime guaranteed, but expensive and a style that I'm hesitant about because getting it properly fastened and tightened on my own could be challenging (if not impossible). 

I wasn't as fond of the back view, although the laces 
could still be tightened another 1-2 inches. What 
I didn't like was the increased width at the butt, 
but if I actually ordered, rather than bought off 
the rack, she could add some triangular panels 
at the back to make it a straight run, instead of 
the increased gap at the hips. I think I'd like 
that better. 

I told them what size I was looking for and tried one on that actually surprised me with how good it looked. We decided to take photos (shared above) since I'll have "my girls) with me next weekend and I can get opinions straight from both Chickie and Sharon. I didn't bother asking the price - I won't need to know if I don't buy one, and I won't buy one if it doesn't fit the way I want and I don't feel like I'll be able to live within the laces and clasps. I can buy off the rack, but I can also order custom - colors/leathers I want in the style I like. I like that flexibility and option. 

I haven't ordered from Chipotle for more than two years. 
I was a bit bewildered, but managed to get my bowl 
with a single spoon of rice, probably too many black 
beans, no guacamole, salsa and absolutely no cheese. 
It was quite good, though, and I'll have a second meal 
from it for tonight. 

We had a lovely day at Fest, returned home in time for a relaxing drink on the patio, and I picked up Burrito Bowls from Chipotle for dinner (minimal rice on mine, but probably too many black beans). It was delightful. We settled down for a couple of hours, but the bathroom sink in Sharon's bathroom was backing up, and after a look, DH told me to call our plumber. Yes - I have our plumber on speed-dial. So, I called Jack, left a message, and hope I'll hear from him today because ... 

You've heard of the Three Strikes, I think we're 
now into our second set of three strikes, and I'm 
really hoping we don't have anything else 
happen. It's really getting on my nerves. It will 
take a month or more to go through the wet 
boxes, retrieve what we need, and toss what 
we don't or what can't be saved. What a mess! 

Remember my recent history? Broken garage door (fixed), broken refrigerator (replaced), broken wall oven (new one on order, old one still broken)? Well, to that we can now add plumbing that needs some serious work, and a broken/cracked toilet tank. I discovered the toilet tank at 10:30 pm when I went into the bathroom and discovered my feet were in a 1/2" of water, the toilet was running, and it wasn't stopping. I woke up DH, after some effort we turned it off at the pipe, mopped up the floor, and realized that the floor had leaked into our lower "attic" storage space - under the stairs where some of the HVAC stuff is. We use that room for storage. We cleaned it a few years ago when we started setting up a heater to keep our pipes from freezing in sub-30 degree weather, so it wasn't as bad as it could have been. 

The problem with getting a new toilet is making sure it 
will fit the bolts and braces from the floor below. Also 
that the actual pipe will fit properly. DH doesn't want to 
rush out and buy one until Jack and he determine what 
will fit properly. This could be a problem. 

But ... it was still bad - very bad. DH was handing soaked boxes out to me and I was stacking them anywhere I could find space in the craft room, the laundry room and the den. We burnt the motor out of our wet-vacuum, and had to resort to buckets, sponges and cloths. We finally finished dumping the last of the water outside in the garden at 12:30 am. I decided to screw my morning treadmill and allow myself a bit more sleep, reset my alarm from 3:15 am to 5:00 am. So, my blog is late today - good reason. 

I figure I got a lot of exercise last night as we were hauling 
boxes out from the attic and stashing them. We were working 
hard for two hours, and finally got back to bed a bit after 
12:30 am. Letting myself get more than 2-3/4 hours of 
sleep seemed a wise decision. 

So, now we need not only the pipes cleaned out, we also need a new toilet. Before Thursday night, because Sharon arrives then and right now I have two unusable bathroom sinks and one unusable toilet. What a mess. It's going to be a very eventful week. LOL Have an excellent day and please, be kind to your plumbing - LOL. I'll be back tomorrow.