Release and A Set of Chairs

Chickie totally lucked out (and therefore, so did we). She texted me yesterday afternoon, she's finished her Jury Duty and will be back at work today! YIPPEE. Since she was scheduled for a full two weeks, that's a blessing. I get my usual "day off" today, and DH can actually take his Thursday and Saturday. We're quite relieved. Chickie said she had been called for three different juries, but that one case settled, a second was postponed, and the third needed an interpreter who didn't arrive on time, so that case also was postponed. I'm just grateful all around. I don't mind working with DH, but it's not my favorite thing. 

Chickie has been released from her Jury Duty. She 
was called for three different juries, none of which 
actually were seated for a case, or that she didn't make 
the final cut for. 

I have two Pierre Paulin chairs in the basement of my shop. We had purchased them new at a warehouse sale decades ago, and for years and years they were our "sit and rest a bit" or a "keep your kids out from underfoot while you're shopping" chairs. We pulled them out of circulation during Covid because they are fabric covered, which couldn't be sterilized. Our current "companion chair" isn't nearly as comfortable as the Paulin chairs are/were, but it can be easily cleaned. 

I have a matched set of two Pierre Paulin 
"Ribbon Chairs" that we purchased at a 
warehouse sale decades ago. They are the 
most comfortable chairs I've EVER sat it, 
and I adore them. But they've been 
loved to death, and I have no space at 
home for them. So I'm willing to sell them 
to this possible buyer, who is willing to 
put the work and $ into upgrading them to 
"almost new" status and resell them. If we can 
come to a meeting of the minds on price. 

I had a gentleman come into the shop last week asking about the chairs. He said his business partner had recalled that we had them, and was wondering if we still owned them. We do, so I took him into the basement to examine them (they've been absolutely loved to death and need serious work - upholstery mostly). He took photos and said he would check with his partner and get back to me. 

Our chairs were covered in a dark chocolate 
brown fabric - perfect for the many, many 
people and children who sat in these chairs 
over the decades that we've had them. They are 
truly FABULOUS chairs, but need a lot of 
work and take up a lot of space. 

Yesterday I had an email from him. They are interested in the chairs, offering $450/each. If they put in another $2000, they will have chairs they can resell at a good profit. I had been looking for an upholsterer who was willing to take on the project, but had been unsuccessful. I replied with a counter offer dollar amount for each chair; higher, but far from unrealistic. We'll see what response we get. I adore the chairs, know their value, but they need A LOT of work. If someone's willing to put the work and money into it, they might make a tidy profit because these chairs sell for $2000-$20,000 EACH when in perfect condition. 

Please vote at one of the two links below 
for my current story, if you read it and 
enjoyed it. I appreciate your support and 
comments, and my prayer was very 
heartfelt. 

I'm going to enjoy my usual "day off" today. I'm really looking forward to it. I hope all of you have a wonderful day as well. I'll be back tomorrow with all of my clothes washed and put away, dinners made and in the refrigerator, and some off-the-grid stuff accomplished. I'm so VERY pleased that I get my "day off" after all. See you tomorrow and Slava Ukraini. And ... if you haven't read/voted for my current story using OMAKASE as the prompt (I used the letters to spur each paragraph), please hop over to LJ Idol, read, and vote here: https://www.dreamwidth.org/poll/?id=32108 or here: https://therealljidol.dreamwidth.org/1170782.html . 

Please Read and Vote, and Updates on Chickie, and DH and the Treadmill

Out of desperation, I looked at the prompt for the current LJ Idol with different eyes (and a very tight time schedule) and decided to scrap the definition and just work with the word. So I wrote "A Prayer for Earth" using the letters OMAKASE in order, one for each paragraph of the prayer. I hope you like my take on it. Votes are open and there aren't a lot of us left. Every vote is important, and I'm hoping you'll like my entry enough to vote for it. Here's the link for voting: https://therealljidol.dreamwidth.org/1170782.html . 

I am a pipe carrier for the Lakota Nation, sending up 
prayers for the "oyate" - the people. It's an honor that 
I don't take lightly. When the time is right, I'll pass my 
pipe on to the next generation. But right now, it's my 
responsibility and my honor. 

Chickie didn't have to go to jury duty in the morning, but was called in for the afternoon, and has been selected for preliminary consideration in a Criminal Case that will start its' jury selection this morning. I hope she gets on a jury quickly and that the case can be resolved quickly as well. DH and I haven't killed each other working together yet, but it's only been one day - LOL (and Mondays are always just me and DH at the shop). 

DH and I spend too much time at the shop arguing. Since 
Chickie is out on Jury Duty, we might be arguing more 
than usual *sigh*. In some ways it's good - we resolve 
some issues and discover some things. In other ways it's 
a PITA because he always things he's right (until he's 
not), and is reluctant to listen to both sides of any issue. 

Today is a swimming day, so my time is a bit tight, but I'm actually finding that my treadmill days are the tighter days recently. I suppose that is because I want to get a full 45 minutes on the treadmill, and it takes me a few minutes to get all of my settings down properly. Plus, the virtual programs only go for 30 minutes, then I have to break stride to pick a different one for 10-15 minutes or just do my fast walking without any fun pictures of scenery to look at. I prefer the scenery. 

Using the treadmill really isn't that difficult. You turn it 
on, you set the incline and speed to what you want, you 
run (or fast walk). It's more complicated for me because 
I prefer to do it with virtual reality scenery. I get too 
bored otherwise. Then, when you're finished, YOU 
CLEAN THE TREADMILL. That's where DH will 
fail miserably. 

DH wants to use the treadmill, but he can't seem to deal with even the basic instructions of "Turn it on, set your speed and incline, run, stop the machine, CLEAN THE MACHINE". *sigh* I'll have to actually show him what to do when he's "in the mood" again. A waste of air, sometimes, is my husband. But we're stuck with each other this week. With Chickie at the Courthouse, we both have to be in the shop and that means nothing much is getting done, and any customers coming through the door are solely my responsibility. I love the customers, but sometimes interacting with more than two groups can be difficult. 

Please read and vote for my latest story 
on the theme of Omakase. Rather than go 
with the actual definition of the word, 
I did a prayer with each paragraph beginning 
with the next letter of the word. I'm pleased 
with it and hope you will be too. 

So, I'm off to the pool. I hope you have a chance to read my prayer in LJ Idol, and if you like it, I'd sure appreciate your vote. With this few writing now, EVERY vote is SO important. I'm, off to the pool to swim off some of this tension. Have an excellent Tuesday and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

Today is Time for ME!

I'm bouncing the theme for the current LJ Idol writing challenge around in my head, but nothing is floating onto the surface yet. I have little nibbles, though, and hope that if I can get some free time today on my "day off", I'll get a chance to sit at a keyboard and pull something together. It's an interesting prompt this time, one that's pulling me into several directions. I have to make up my mind rather quickly because my "spare" time, as always, is minimal. 

I'm going to enjoy this, my last "day off" for two weeks. 
Hopefully I'll get my latest story written, and maybe some 
house cleaning in as well. But I'm determined to enjoy what 
I can of this day because I won't have another day off 
until the second week of November. 

I did start the day out with a lovely virtual "run" on the treadmill for a solid 45 minutes. I'm absolutely loving it. I plug in my earplugs, turn on my music (Sirius FM Turbo) and get down to good music and beautiful locations on my screen. In general, I'm averaging 3.5-4.0 miles/hour and a 3.5-4.0 incline. Since I'm not allowed to actually run - just fast-walk - I'm meeting the criteria my physician wants me to stay within, and still getting a nice workout. Pure and simply, it's just fun. Today I wandered through Europe and ended up with a couple of walks in New Zealand. Beautiful scenery. 

I have always enjoyed virtual scenery while running/walking. 
I like having something to watch while I'm listening to 
music. Treo has a vast catalog of virtual runs, and I get one 
free year with them as part of my treadmill package. I'm taking 
full advantage of that. 

I enjoy virtual scenery for walking on my treadmill. Just using it plain is WAY too boring, even if I do have good music to listen to. My treadmill came with a one-year membership in Treo and they have a large catalog of virtual reality runs as well as lots of different instructors to help with fitness, sprints, and workouts in general. I'm getting a lot of use from the app, and suspect I'll renew when it comes due next year. 

I am NOT looking forward to the next two weeks. 
It's unlikely that she will have to be at the courthouse 
for each day, all day, but her schedule will be sporadic 
and unpredictable, which means DH and I are on two 
six-day weeks in a row. GRRRR

Today is a "day off" though, and I have a million things on my agenda - not just writing my latest installment for LJ Idol. I won't have a "day off" for the next two weeks while Chickie is on Jury Duty. Wait ... you might be thinking ... TWO weeks? Yeah. I looked at my calendar at work, and she's actually on Jury Duty for TWO weeks, not one. My service was only for one, but I was carried over a couple of days into a second week. She's scheduled for two weeks. She needs to phone in every evening to find out if she's required to be at the Courthouse or not. If not, she can come to work (unless they call her in mid-day which is what happened to me on my one "day off"). *sigh* I am NOT looking forward to working two six-day weeks in a row. 

I'm off and running today. Lots to do before I'm stuck 
working two six-day weeks in a row. ARGH. 

But I have plenty of food made and I think I'll be fine. Cranky and a bit crabby, but fine. DH will be angry and upset because he always seems to be angry and upset when he's working. It'll make for an interesting two weeks. *sigh* On that note, I have many things to do today so I'm off and running. Have an excellent Friday and I'll be back tomorrow to wrap up the week. Slava Ukraini. 

A Little Bit of This and a Little Bit of That

Happy Tuesday to all of you. It's a pool day, so I'm here, perched in front of my desktop computer, writing my daily blog, dressed in my swimming skinsuit for the day. My clothes are packed, my laptop is ready to go to the shop with me, and I'm psyched to have a day without DH, but with Chickie. I'm totally dreading next week, but nothing at all that I can do about Chickie's jury duty. I'm sure she'll find it horrible because she'll be massively uncomfortable. She doesn't sit well for long periods of time, and their chairs are less than wonderful, especially if she's in a courtroom. I do think they specifically hired designers to make attractive chairs that would be as uncomfortable as possible so that the jurors would stay awake and alert. 

I think they hired designers who would design the most 
attractive looking, but bodily uncomfortable, chairs in the 
universe for jury boxes. I know when I was seated in one 
for my in-depth interview, I was horribly uncomfortable 
after only 15 minutes. Thinking of spending entire days in 
those chairs would be tantamount to torture in my opinion. 

The bill for the treadmill arrived in yesterday's mail, so I wrote the check and DH will send it on its' way today. It's MINE! WHOOT! Totally MINE. I'm beyond thrilled. I still need to get used to the sign-in procedure. I'm bringing a couple of the "How To" booklets along to the shop with me to review them again. And, somewhere and somehow I've managed to lose my favorite ear buds and the chest strap that I was able to use once. *sigh* I know they'll turn up, but it's a PITA until they do. 

I adore my treadmill, but know I can use it more 
effectively. I'm delving into some of the instructional 
books that I was given along with the machine, while 
at work today. Now that I've used it for a bit, I have 
a good idea of how it operates. It's time to find out 
the specifics and fine-tuning. 

Still, the treadmill is finally 100% mine, and I'm extremely happy. This is why I saved my holiday cash and any other little payments for repairs and the shop from here and there - so that I could afford a BIG purchase every now and then. This definitely qualified as a BIG purchase - LOL. 

I've never been this close to the top before in 
terms of votes. I'm thrilled! It's entirely possible 
that I'll be dashed against the rocks in the next 
challenge, but it's been SO much fun and SO 
worth every flap of my literary wings. 

Voting for LJ Idol closes tonight. I'm in the top three, but not the top two. That's OK. I'm higher than I've ever achieved before, and I'm totally enjoying the rarefied air. Thanks to one and all who voted for my "Ode to the Phoenix" story. I absolutely couldn't do it without all of you. DH might read my stories (sometimes), but he never votes. *sigh* So, I'm off to the pool for a good swim today. I hope your Tuesday is spectacular, and if not, that it's at least wonderful. I'll be back tomorrow for the next installment of my life in blog. Be well, be happy, and Slava Ukraini. 

A Look Ahead at an Icky Schedule

It's a "Make Ogre Juice" and a "bake fruit for breakfast" day today. A pretty easy day in the kitchen, all told. But I'm already looking ahead to two weeks from now. Why? Well, that's the next time that DH and I will have to work a full six-day week (and perhaps even more). In a world of Tit for Tat, the pendulum has moved the opposite direction, and it's Chickie's turn for Jury Duty. Unfortunately, I remember my own tour of duty less than two years ago and truly, it was rather horrid. 

The chairs for the jury are actually rather horrid after 
the first hour or so. I found myself really hating them 
when I was called up for further questioning on the 
one jury I might have been chosen for. 

I didn't mind the going there, and after the first day, I learned to bring a power brick and lots of cords with me, and to grab one of the seats with plugs nearby. But, it's the boredom. The waiting to hear your name called, torn between wanting to be called, and hoping you're not called. Since you have no idea what type of case you'll be called for, or whether you'll make the cut, you also have no idea how long you might be tied up, sitting in horribly uncomfortable seating and trying your best to listen to testimony and instructions. 

The jury pool room was rather crowded, a bit 
cold, and they had snacks and coffee, but I 
don't eat sugar or gluten, so the snacks didn't 
work for me. I also don't drink caffeine, so 
the coffee was also useless. I brought my own 
teabags, but those ran out quickly and then 
I was stuck with plain water. Boring! 

Ick! 

I met a few nice people in the jury pool, but nobody I'd 
call a "friend", just people passing in the night - or in 
the hallways, as it were. 

I was both lucky and unlucky. I had to come back a second week, for two more days, which was a horrible inconvenience for Chickie and DH who had to work in my stead. I would have served, but I also emphasized that I was self-employed as one of a small staff in a retail store that was open six days a week, so that my staff had to be there when I was called away. I was NOT chosen for the jury on the case I was considered for, and that completed my service. I'll be over their age limit if they call me again, and can opt out because of that. 

The Ramsey County Courthouse building is stunning - 
very Art Deco both outside and indoors, with lots of 
marble, statuary, and touches of artwork and history 
throughout. It was built during the Great Depression 
years, so had some top-notch craftspeople working 
on it. It was almost worth being on jury duty to 
wander the halls of this building. 

Chickie is younger than I am (although in much poorer health). She might be able to opt out on health reasons, but it's going to be a rough five days in the jury pool for her. I hope she remembers to pack a lunch, the restaurants in the area are quite expensive. 

Jury Duty was one of the most boring weeks of my life, 
and we had snowstorms, and I was trying to get my meals 
made in the few off-hours I was able to grab. It was as 
close to a disaster as I could imagine. Horrid. 

But to get back to the topic on hand, I get one more week of regular scheduling before DH and I are stuck with each other's company again. I'm going to hope that Chickie will be called up for a case early, and will be released quickly. Maybe her luck will be better than mine was. She'll still have to be there for the full five days, but hopefully that will be all. 

I like to vote early when I can. I remember standing 
in long lines in falling snow for other elections, and 
I'm really not fond of doing that. DH probably will 
do that, but that's his choice. Mine will be to get 
early voting today or next week. 

On a different note, between all of the food prep I need to do today, I'd like to get my early vote in for the Presidential election. My local library has early voting opening today. I have a feeling the lines today will be rather extreme, so I might try to build this task into next Wednesday or next Friday. I'd rather vote early than stand in line in the frigid temps outdoors on election day. DH, I'm quite sure, will do the wait at the door thing - it's what he does. I'm a believer in comfort, and I'd rather avoid the November line if possible. So, on that note, I think I've rambled quite enough. Have an excellent Friday and I'll be back tomorrow to wrap up another week. Be kind, and Slava Ukraini. 

Ding Dong, The Witch is Dead - My Life Returns

Yesterday's jury duty was a rather intense morning. If our names were called (and mine was called as the 8th one on the Judge/s list) we were seated in the jury box at the front portion of the court. There were 22 of us called for that seating, with the remainder of the potential jurors seated on the audience benches at the back of the court. Then questioning started. Between the questions, we also got a bit more information about the nature of the case. 

Here's a lovely Bas Relief sculpture in Art Deco style 
gracing the wall at the Courthouse. There are little gems 
of artwork sprinkled throughout the building from top 
to bottom. I took photos of the elevator doors to share 
with all of you, and I'll try to do that for tomorrow's blog. 

The case revolved around the sexual abuse of a thirteen-year-old girl by the Defendant. Late in the morning it came out that the abuse had happened five years previously, which led me to wonderiwhy the heck it had been put off so long. Why hadn't the parents filed suit in this case much earlier? I was left in the dark on that, though. Two of the attorneys were allowed to ask their questions, one for the defense and one for the prosecution. I wasn't asked anything, so sat mute, watching and listening. It was interesting, but none of my answers on the questionnaire we all filled out apparently elicited questions outside of the one-on-one interview I had the previous day. 

I really enjoyed my two meals at Momento in downtown 
St Paul. The food was excellent and the service was 
spot on. It's a bit expensive, but it's downtown - I wouldn't 
expect anything else. I'm glad I don't need to spend these 
prices for lunch every day, but for two days it was a special 
treat after some long, frustrating hours at court. 

Two potential jurors were dismissed with thanks and sent to the Jury Duty room for reassignment or to be struck from the active rolls. We finally got to a good stopping point, the Defense and the Prosecution having both had their chance to question us, and we broke for lunch. I joined another juror and we headed down the skyway to Momento for a lovely lunch, then we returned to the 12th floor and our gathering room. 

OMG, what a relief! I'm finally finished with Jury Duty, and 
they can't call me again for four years. Of course I'll be 
over their age limit at that time, so basically, I'm done! 

When we entered the courtroom, we were told to all gather at the back of the room and only come forward to fill the jury box if our name was called. Fortunately, my name was NOT called, so I was finally "Free At Last". Those of us remaining, after we were officially dismissed, got the hell out of that courtroom as quickly as we possibly could, heading down to the lowest level to get officially checked out and thanked for our service. 

I got one of these lovely stickers for my eight days 
of service, along with a hearty "thank you" and the 
offer of some candy which I turned down. I practically 
ran to my car in case anyone changed their mind. 

So today I'm back to a "normal" schedule, except that I can't remember if DH and I were switching days today or not. I'll find out eventually and either head to the shop or just start shoveling here. We're in the middle of a serious winter storm that started last night, and I'm really grateful I don't have to try to get downtown to the courthouse today. I'll have lots of shoveling to do at the shop, but that's just fine. I can use the exercise after ten days of sitting around waiting for paint to dry at the courthouse. Whether I work today or tomorrow, I'll be at the pool tomorrow morning. Life can start returning to normal again. Slava Ukraini. 

Rinse and Repeat Yet Again - I'm Back to the Courthouse Again

I was in the 9:00 am group to meet one-on-one (in a manner of speaking) with the Judge and the four attorneys and the Defendant in the courtroom yesterday. Many people didn't have to go through this step, but I had told the court that it would be a hardship to be on the jury (but that I would, of course, serve) and that I had possibly been abused when I was very young, although I had no recollection of it. 

Scheduling - it can be a disaster sometimes. When dealing 
with the court, it seems that schedules are merely a 
suggestion, not something that is held to. At least, that's 
what happened yesterday. 

The next group was scheduled for 10:30 am, with a third group in the afternoon. Schedules change. I was there on time, and 10:30 am came around and I was still waiting to be called. I think I was finally called at almost eleven. Many of the jurors had been told to come back to the chamber at 3:00 pm that afternoon, so it was only those who had more detailed questionnaires that were being asked to return. 

The judge in this case isn't quite a severe looking 
at this cartoon, but she is female - not uncommon 
in family law situations. In fact, three of the attorneys 
are also female. I'm delighted to see that. When I worked 
in the legal profession there weren't many women 
involved in the field at all. 

I finally got my "day in court" and they spent about 20 minutes questioning me about how the store would be impacted with my absence as well as my early childhood experience. I was told to report back at 3:00 pm. I decided to treat myself to a nice lunch - something I hadn't done at all since being on Jury Duty the prior week. I went through the skyway system to "Momento" and had an absolutely lovely quinoa salad with grilled chicken breast. It was fabulous! I then returned to the the courthouse and settled in a chair in the Jury Duty chambers, deciding to charge my phone while I was at it. 

The Jury Duty room takes up a good portion of the 
bottom level of the courthouse - the Ground Level, 
although it's actually one level below street level. 
Here, the Jury Duty chambers are on the left and a large 
breakroom is the lighted opening at the far end. 

I got a call from the Court Clerk within a half-hour or so, telling me that schedules shift and the court was running behind time. Everyone was asked to return today at 9:00 am for a mass meeting with the Judge, Attorneys and Defendant instead of the previously schedule 3:00 pm. So I texted Chickie and DH and told them I was heading to the shop. I sent DH home and worked the rest of the day, getting some necessary things finished. DH, meanwhile, tackled the ice buildup on our driveway, getting almost all of it cracked off and removed. 

I've shown you the "Vision of Peace" statue before, 
but take a look at the size of the onyx statue. It 
stands three stories tall, and each of those 
hallways on Levels 2 and 3 are faced on the interior 
with black, white-veined marble that has the names 
of all of the Minnesotans who lost their lives in 
warr through WWI. It's a stunning legacy and a 
reminder that we're only here on this earth for 
a short time. 

So today is another day of rinse and repeat. If I get impaneled onto this jury, I won't, of course, be able to speak about trial specifics, and I anticipate it will last into next week. This is turning into a physical and financial burden. Those daily fees for parking my car are adding up and my $20/day + mileage checks aren't going to go far. They'll pay for my parking. But that's about it. 

So I have the trash ready to get put out, I have a load in the washer, and I'll be returning to the courthouse for my 9:00 am meeting. I don't know whether or not I want to be on this jury, but I do think I can be impartial and make an educated decision based on the facts presented, and that's what's important in a jury trial. I'll let you know, either way. Right now, I need my swim time. Have an excellent Wednesday and Slava Ukraini. 

One More Day in Court - Maybe This Will Be the Last Day

It's a very fast post today because I'm on my way to the swimming pool, and then have a 9:00 am meeting with the court for an interview for the juried case coming up within the next day or so. I'm a bit torn about whether I want to be on the case, or whether I'd rather not. So I'll leave it up to the judge and the attorneys to decide who is impaneled or not. Not will free up my life once again, impaneled will tie my life up for another week or so. 

I'm starting my second week of Jury Duty today, and 
it doesn't make me happy. But, it's an important case, 
and if I'm chosen for the jury, I'll do my duty and 
my best. Still, I'm hoping I get my life back after 
today. It's been a long haul. 

I'll have to drop by the shop on my way to the courthouse. I'll turn off my security alarm and relock the doors behind me. Chickie has keys to the back door locks, but she doesn't know the alarm code and I'm just fine with that. She'll get there and get things moving when she arrives, and DH will have to work on a "day off" until I get to the shop from the Courthouse. I'll let him go home when I'm finished. I should know by the end of the day whether I'll be a juror, an alternate, or whether I'll have my life returned to me once again. 

Although I try to do this, I'm married to DH, 
the grumpiest man on earth. Fortunately I have 
all of you - my online friends - and Chickie, to 
help keep the sunshine in my life. I also have my 
friends at the swimming pool. I'd be nothing 
but a melted stress pile without all of you! 

My dentist was pretty pleased with the state of my teeth. They were stained, which makes sense since I drink a LOT of tea, but apparently the stain was easy to remove. I know I'm pretty happy with my braces - there's such a difference in the alignment of my teeth already, and it's barely been 2-1/2 months. I think I'm going to be very pleased with the end results after my 18-24 months is over. Ir still looks like an impossibly long span of time, but I know it'll look like a flash in retrospect. 

I'm actually not running late, I'm right on time. But, 
it's a busy morning, and I don't want to be late for 
the pool. The roads might be dicey - yesterday was 
a day of a light rain and if it froze overnight, it 
might be a treacherous drive to the YMCA and a 
dicey walk from the car to the front doors. 

So, I'm out of here. I'll get a good swim in, dress for the court, and head down to the courthouse for my 9:00 am meeting with the Judge and at least one lawyer from each side of this case. I'm hoping traffic won't be a bear, but I'm pretty comfortable with the route I take to the parking ramp I prefer, so all is good. No matter what, I should know my schedule by the end of the day. Have an excellent Tuesday, I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

I'm Starting Another Week of Work and of Jury Duty (Maybe)

I start today with my semi-annual dental appointment and checkup. They haven't seen me since I got my braces, so that will be a new thing for them. I imagine it makes cleaning and checking slightly more challenging, but Al, my hygienist, and Dr B (or Dr Phan) are experienced, so I expect no issues. 

I'm sure very few people's dentists are also in their state's 
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, but Dr Bernie is. He's been 
a professional musician in his "spare" time for decades, 
mostly playing songs from the early to mid 1960's. 
Think "Beach Boys" and you'll have his sound nailed. 

DH and I spent yesterday watching football. Unfortunately, the Minnesota Vikings failed to move on to the next round of the playoffs, but the games in general were entertaining and kept our attention. We were trying to plan the week ahead, but since everything hinges on whether or not I'll be on the jury for that upcoming case, it's been hard to plan anything. Today is a Federal holiday here in the USA, but the store is open as usual, so we'll see what business we get. At least Chickie gets her day off this week. Last week she had to work for me because I was on my first day of Jury Duty. I'm just grateful to get one "normal" day before I head back to the Courthouse. 

The Vikings were a disappointment yesterday, although 
they had a great season. The Broncos didn't even make 
the playoffs, so I have no teams in the finals at all this 
season. Yes, I'm well aware that vikings didn't wear horns 
on their helmets, but our logo image does. 

Tomorrow, beginning at 9:00 am, each juror will meet with at least one lawyer from the defense, at least one lawyer from the prosecution and the judge. We've been assigned times in smaller groups or twenty and each person will be called in for an individual interview. My group is the 9:00 am group and I am juror #12. 

All I was able to Google with confidence dealing 
with my Uncle is this Application for Entrance 
to the USA which is in the National Library of 
Israel. It's possible that my Uncle and Aunt were 
both at Majdanek concentration camp, but I 
can't prove that at this time. That entire side of 
the family is deceased now (my cousin died 
during the early part of the COVID epidemic, 
although that wasn't what caused her death). 

I did call the Judge's Clerk on Friday afternoon to tell him about one thing I forgot to put onto my multi-page questionnaire. Namely, that I might have been sexually abused by an Uncle when I was very young. My Uncle, whom I adored, was accused of abuse by one of my cousin's classmates. I never knew specifics, only that my Aunt divorced him and my cousin wouldn't mention or speak of him again. But I don't recall any abuse at all. I recall someone I really loved being with who was always friendly, smiling and courteous. He'd sit me on his lap (remember, I was younger than 8, so I don't consider this pushing any envelopes) and we'd read the Sunday comics together. He'd also watch cartoons on the TV with me. 

I'm not sure where we'll be meeting with the Judge and 
attorneys, but do know each person will be interviewed 
privately, without the other jurors present. It should be 
interesting, at least. It's certainly a lot different than 
any jury seating I've ever seen or been part of before. 

The Clerk said that the Judge may want to discuss this privately with me tomorrow, and I said I was just fine with that. I truly didn't think about it because I don't know whether I was abused or not. It was a LONG time ago - more than 60 years. I have no idea if the Judge will consider this pertinent, but thought I should at least mention it. 

I hope all of you had a relaxing weekend. Since I won't really have any "news" until Wednesday, my life is up in the air until then; so I'm just going to do what I need to do and move onward from there. Have an excellent Monday and I'll be back tomorrow. 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. 

Back To Court Again and Adventures in Printing

 I was actually able to be in the shop yesterday, although I didn't know it until after the 11:30 am call-in to the Jury Duty room. I wasn't called in yesterday, but was instructed to phone again after 5:00 pm. At that time, I called in and the recording said that ALL jurors who were not assigned to a case must report today at 8:45 am. So, I'm off to the Courthouse once again. If I get selected for a jury today, I might be in court for most of next week. Not impossible, but not ideal either. 

My old JP LaserJet 5P is a workhorse, but it's slow in the 
realm of today's printers. It prints a whopping 6 pages per 
minute, and that's REALLY slow. I was afraid the printer 
cartridge might be too old, but the sample sheets I printed 
out yesterday were beautiful and detailed. So, it works well, 
it just doesn't communicate with my sales computer. Now 
to get the software loaded and see how it does. 

I took advantage of my day at the shop to investigate whether or not I can use my old HP LaserJet 5P with my store's computer system instead of the HP LaserJet 1100 that I've used for two decades. The 1100 is dying - heating components are refusing to heat enough to bond the toner to the paper. Also, it decided that it wasn't going to accept my slightly heavier-weight price tag sheets. It's only accepting standard paper now, and that's not going to work. 

The HP 5P printer actually should work fine with my 
Windows 98 sales system, it runs an older program than Win 98,
made to work with Win 3.1. The problem is 
getting the printer into the computer so that it's recognized 
as a legitimate printer. I have a couple of websites written 
down to help me download and copy the printer 
program to CD. Then, (since Dale made sure I had 
an operational CD Rom reader in the computer after 
the last crash), I can download the program and, 
ideally, Windows will recognize it as another 
valid printer. If so, I'm off and running. 

As a work-around, I've been printing the price tags out on standard paper and bringing them home, where I've used my Epson to copy them onto the price tag sheets. That has been working, but it's fussy. I have this lovely, old, and perfectly functional HP LaserJet 5P in my back room at the shop, and I thought I'd see if it was operational and if so, whether it would work with my current set-up. 

I came across this while looking through photos 
this morning. I had never heard of this before, 
although I'm sure my computer could use a 
good cleaning. But then again, so could my desk 
(which is currently a DISASTER). What 
about you. Is your desk clean and pristine or is 
it a mess of TBD and in-progress tasks? How 
about your computer? Have you cleaned out old 
files and streamlined things recently? I'm 
just curious because my desk is SO bad!!! 

So, yes. It is functional. It prints beautifully, in fact. BUT, (because there always seems to be a BUT), the sales software isn't automatically recognizing the new printer. That wasn't unexpected given the age of my system, but it does mean I'll need to go on-line this weekend and record a CD with the appropriate software (which I did locate on-line), then take that CD to the shop and download it onto the sales computer which runs Win98 (yes, it's a VERY old computer system). If I can get it downloaded properly and if it will recognize the software, then I can try the large printer once again and see if I can make it functional. It would resolve a lot of issues that we've had to work around over the past few months, so I'm crossing my fingers. 

The current courthouse that I've been in for the 
past week actually opened in 1932 and is a prime 
example of Art Deco style. This is the courthouse 
just prior to that, occupied from 1889-1932, and 
there was one even older used from 1851-1889. 
I'm a huge fan of Art Deco, so I'm totally in love 
with the courthouse. If you're at all interested 
in more particulars, there's a nice one-page 
synopsis of the building here. 
https://www.mnopedia.org/structure/st-paul-city-hall-and-ramsey-county-courthouse 

So today I'm heading back to the courthouse. If I don't get selected and impaneled onto a jury today, I'm done for a minimum of four years. If I get chosen for a jury, however, I'm probably stuck going to court for most of next week. I'm not sure what I'm hoping for - either way has positive and negative associations and scheduling. At least Monday is a Federal (and State) holiday, (Martin Luther King Day), so I won't have to be in court, I can actually work at the shop for a change - LOL. Have a great Friday and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini.