Sarah has finished her final session of on the road driving practice. Now we wait for a little over a week until we go take her for her driver's test. Since she is having her wisdom teeth out tomorrow, hopefully she won't need much more practice. She told me that her instructor told her she should be just fine and shouldn't have a problem passing.
The final on the road apparently is like a mini road test. Sarah said she went over all the skills they will be testing her on when she goes for her license, and according to her she did pretty well. There were only a couple of suggestions he had for her, thought she wouldn't tell me what they were. Not that it matters all that much, but I want to make sure whatever it is/was, I don't want her doing it in my car, especially when my insurance rates are already going to be exploding.
Thursday, July 31, 2014
Sunday, July 27, 2014
Stupid Squirrels
This year has been very strange in that we have had so many squirrels and chipmunks running around our backyard. I started by placing the chipmunks traps near hostas, and I ended up catching about 10 or 11 in three weeks. Like always I end up driving them about a mile away and letting them go in the Tamarack Swamp.
Now usually, I trap them because they would be digging up Kris's flowers burying seeds. However, I noticed that for whatever reason the chipmunks were collecting the seed that the birds dropped on the ground from the bird feeders and they weren't digging in the pots. So I thought, why should I trap them? If they aren't bothering me, or digging up Kris's flowers, then I really don't care, and I just let them be. So that gets us to the squirrels.
The chipmunks have been fine... not so much the squirrels. First, they managed to get at the bird feeders, both the seed and the suet. And once they did get at them, they started chewing the feeders apart. Every time I saw one getting at the seed, I would go outside and chase it away. Once they stopped doing that, I noticed that they had started sitting in Kris's flower pots, eating their seeds that they got either from the feeders, or from the ground. And then they began to start breaking off the buds from Kris's Hybiscus plants. I have never seen that before, so it was very strange that they would start tearing the flowers apart. Luckily, they only got at about 5 or 6 buds before we got them scared away. So now I am going to have to monitor the plants to make sure they don't kill all of Kris's flowers. And I can't really trap them, because the chipmunk traps are not big enough for them. I did catch one in a chipmunk trap once, and before I could let it go, the squirrel pretty much went nuts running around inside of it until it had knocked the trap over, which ended up releasing the door, and it got away. I am at the point where I am considering a pellet gun and shooting them from the window. It won't happen, but I am thinking about it.
Now usually, I trap them because they would be digging up Kris's flowers burying seeds. However, I noticed that for whatever reason the chipmunks were collecting the seed that the birds dropped on the ground from the bird feeders and they weren't digging in the pots. So I thought, why should I trap them? If they aren't bothering me, or digging up Kris's flowers, then I really don't care, and I just let them be. So that gets us to the squirrels.
The chipmunks have been fine... not so much the squirrels. First, they managed to get at the bird feeders, both the seed and the suet. And once they did get at them, they started chewing the feeders apart. Every time I saw one getting at the seed, I would go outside and chase it away. Once they stopped doing that, I noticed that they had started sitting in Kris's flower pots, eating their seeds that they got either from the feeders, or from the ground. And then they began to start breaking off the buds from Kris's Hybiscus plants. I have never seen that before, so it was very strange that they would start tearing the flowers apart. Luckily, they only got at about 5 or 6 buds before we got them scared away. So now I am going to have to monitor the plants to make sure they don't kill all of Kris's flowers. And I can't really trap them, because the chipmunk traps are not big enough for them. I did catch one in a chipmunk trap once, and before I could let it go, the squirrel pretty much went nuts running around inside of it until it had knocked the trap over, which ended up releasing the door, and it got away. I am at the point where I am considering a pellet gun and shooting them from the window. It won't happen, but I am thinking about it.
Monday, July 21, 2014
Second Stoop Post
So of course what should have been a piece of cake had to be a problem, because all of my projects are. The second rail got put up today, but only after about four hours of dinking around. I thought it would go relatively smoothly since I had such a problem the day before. But I couldn't have been more wrong.
I go the rail braces attached to the house rather quickly, and was in the process of finishing up when Kris came out to have a look at my progress. She then pointed out that the rails were not even. The height of the top rail on the post relative to the top of the post was about 2 inches different from the first one. However, there wasn't anything I could do as the previous location of the brackets for the stoop railings had to remain fixed, and were actually at the same height on the side of the house. The problem is that there is a big slant from right to left when you are looking at the house (presumably for water to run off?). So the base of the post is actually almost 2 inches lower than the post on the right side.
Since Kris said this was unacceptable, I had to try and figure out how to remedy the situation. After some thought, I had to go and get myself another post since I had already drilled the post for the screws to attached the rails and if I was going to raise it, there would have been extra holes in it. I also had to look for something to use as a base to set the flange of the post upon to raise it. I found what I thought was the perfect thing, a piece of PVC "board" that was supposed to be used for trim. When I got home however, I found that it wasn't wide enough to fit under the complete post flange, so I had to go back and get a 6" wide board (the first one was 5"). I forgot that when it comes to the size of boards, a 5" board isn't actually 5" wide, but 4 3/4".
When I got the second pc. of PVC planking, I was able to trace the flange on it, and cut out a block the exact size of the flange base. Then I could match drill holes, put a couple of quick coats of black paint on it and secure everything in place. So now the height of the top rail relative to the top of the post is identical, but the base of the post looks much thicker on the left than on the right. So it's a trade off. At least it isn't as noticeable as the top of the rail. Maybe one day when I have more time I can redo the post, cutting off a couple of inches from the top so I can make an identical base to match the one I had to make for the left post. But for now, I think I can live with it. Just don't look too closely at it when you come over.
I go the rail braces attached to the house rather quickly, and was in the process of finishing up when Kris came out to have a look at my progress. She then pointed out that the rails were not even. The height of the top rail on the post relative to the top of the post was about 2 inches different from the first one. However, there wasn't anything I could do as the previous location of the brackets for the stoop railings had to remain fixed, and were actually at the same height on the side of the house. The problem is that there is a big slant from right to left when you are looking at the house (presumably for water to run off?). So the base of the post is actually almost 2 inches lower than the post on the right side.
Since Kris said this was unacceptable, I had to try and figure out how to remedy the situation. After some thought, I had to go and get myself another post since I had already drilled the post for the screws to attached the rails and if I was going to raise it, there would have been extra holes in it. I also had to look for something to use as a base to set the flange of the post upon to raise it. I found what I thought was the perfect thing, a piece of PVC "board" that was supposed to be used for trim. When I got home however, I found that it wasn't wide enough to fit under the complete post flange, so I had to go back and get a 6" wide board (the first one was 5"). I forgot that when it comes to the size of boards, a 5" board isn't actually 5" wide, but 4 3/4".
When I got the second pc. of PVC planking, I was able to trace the flange on it, and cut out a block the exact size of the flange base. Then I could match drill holes, put a couple of quick coats of black paint on it and secure everything in place. So now the height of the top rail relative to the top of the post is identical, but the base of the post looks much thicker on the left than on the right. So it's a trade off. At least it isn't as noticeable as the top of the rail. Maybe one day when I have more time I can redo the post, cutting off a couple of inches from the top so I can make an identical base to match the one I had to make for the left post. But for now, I think I can live with it. Just don't look too closely at it when you come over.
Sunday, July 20, 2014
Murphy's Law
For the first time in a long time there wasn't much to do here over the weekend. So since there wasn't any running around to do, I took the opportunity to get some little things done around the house. The first thing I went to tackle was the floor flanges for the railings on the front stoop.
I put up the new railings three years ago after mudjacking the stoop. So after three years, the plating/coating on the floor flanges peeled away, leaving a white residue. I think that they were aluminum and the coating looked to almost be like an adhesive coating. I figured that I could just scrape it with a wire brush and then blow it off and wipe it with some mineral spirits and then paint it with some Rustoleum. After wire brushing I thought that I might be able to just unbolt them from the concrete to paint them. It would also allow me to go get some new screws and nuts since they were severely corroded as well. Unfortunately, the nuts were so corroded I couldn't turn them.
First, I stripped one nut, then when I tried to turn the next one, the stud itself broke off. And since I only had two bolts/studs holding it into the concrete, I was left with pretty much having to replace the flange. The same thing happened with the second flange. That one however I had bolted down with four studs, and of the four, I was only able to get one nut off. It also lead to one of the studs breaking off a chunk of the concrete.
That meant going to look for new flanges, which ultimately lead to getting new rails as well. So what I thought would be about an hour long job lead to about a seven hour project and several trips to the store for the right kind of bolts and screws. By the end of the day I was able to get one rail and post replaced, and I left the second one for today. Since I know exactly how to get it installed now, getting the second one up today shouldn't take quite as long. It just always seems like whenever I go to fix something, it turns into a great big deal. I think Murphy's Law is whatever can go wrong, will, and that sure seems to define my attempts at home improvement projects.
I put up the new railings three years ago after mudjacking the stoop. So after three years, the plating/coating on the floor flanges peeled away, leaving a white residue. I think that they were aluminum and the coating looked to almost be like an adhesive coating. I figured that I could just scrape it with a wire brush and then blow it off and wipe it with some mineral spirits and then paint it with some Rustoleum. After wire brushing I thought that I might be able to just unbolt them from the concrete to paint them. It would also allow me to go get some new screws and nuts since they were severely corroded as well. Unfortunately, the nuts were so corroded I couldn't turn them.
First, I stripped one nut, then when I tried to turn the next one, the stud itself broke off. And since I only had two bolts/studs holding it into the concrete, I was left with pretty much having to replace the flange. The same thing happened with the second flange. That one however I had bolted down with four studs, and of the four, I was only able to get one nut off. It also lead to one of the studs breaking off a chunk of the concrete.
That meant going to look for new flanges, which ultimately lead to getting new rails as well. So what I thought would be about an hour long job lead to about a seven hour project and several trips to the store for the right kind of bolts and screws. By the end of the day I was able to get one rail and post replaced, and I left the second one for today. Since I know exactly how to get it installed now, getting the second one up today shouldn't take quite as long. It just always seems like whenever I go to fix something, it turns into a great big deal. I think Murphy's Law is whatever can go wrong, will, and that sure seems to define my attempts at home improvement projects.
Saturday, July 19, 2014
Summer Job
When I went to pick up Sarah tonight from work, she informed me that today was her last shift. She knew that her job was only seasonal, but she was also planning on working up until the end of August. But I also think she knew it was coming. She told me a couple of
weeks ago that her boss had told one of the other young guys that she
worked with that he was all done for the season. Plus, for the past three or four weeks, she was only being scheduled for one day a week.
Stein obviously hired more people than they needed for the summer. They went nuts having people work during the busy, spring planting rush, but then once that push was done, they had way more people than they needed. I feel bad for her because she really liked having the extra money to go do fun things with her friends, and saving up some cash for possibly getting herself a car. The good thing is that I suppose she can go look for something else now that will give her some more hours. I think she has some leads already from some of her friends, so we'll see what happens.
Stein obviously hired more people than they needed for the summer. They went nuts having people work during the busy, spring planting rush, but then once that push was done, they had way more people than they needed. I feel bad for her because she really liked having the extra money to go do fun things with her friends, and saving up some cash for possibly getting herself a car. The good thing is that I suppose she can go look for something else now that will give her some more hours. I think she has some leads already from some of her friends, so we'll see what happens.
Friday, July 18, 2014
End of Camp
Ali's week of girl scout camp is over, and other than the water at camp it was very enjoyable for her. As I said, her only complaint was the hydrogen sulfide odor of the well water. Well that and she wasn't wild about the food they got. But isn't that typical? You're supposed to hate camp food.
She got placed with a group of 3rd graders and had a blast. She said all the girls in her group just loved her, and she had fun teaching them and helping their leader. It was a much different dynamic that we were used to with Sarah. Sarah had a moderator for all of her time as a PAIT and as a PA, an she was doing all the work on her own. At Silverbrook there are paid leaders who do all the work and the PAITs and PAs serve strictly as assistants. At least that is how I understand it. So she definitely had fun and thinks she'll probably go back next year.
She got placed with a group of 3rd graders and had a blast. She said all the girls in her group just loved her, and she had fun teaching them and helping their leader. It was a much different dynamic that we were used to with Sarah. Sarah had a moderator for all of her time as a PAIT and as a PA, an she was doing all the work on her own. At Silverbrook there are paid leaders who do all the work and the PAITs and PAs serve strictly as assistants. At least that is how I understand it. So she definitely had fun and thinks she'll probably go back next year.
Fraud Update
There is good news to report finally. I got my credit fraud report confirmed and got a copy of my credit report. After going over various credit agency reports, as of 7/18 it looks like there haven't been any new accounts opened in my name and everything looks clean. But that makes me wonder if the thing with Best Buy was just a mistake and someone accidentally assigned the purchase to my Best Buy account, or if it was maybe some other sort of clerical error. Either way, it looks like I am in good shape, which is the best news I have received in a while.
Saturday, July 12, 2014
Bastille Days
Being in Milwaukee during the summer has some perks. One of them is all the festivals they have. This weekend is the annual Bastille Days festival downtown, and since we really haven't done anything with the girls we thought it might be fun to go check it out. One of the biggest pluses is that it's free, so the price is definitely right. Since the girls were home with nothing to do on Friday, and Sarah for some reason likes Paris, we decided to go down and check it out.
I haven't actually gone to Bastille Days since about 1992, but I remember it being a lot of fun. Maybe I don't remember things so well because it was sort of boring. I thought we would go walk around, maybe find a street vendor and have a croissant, or some other sort of French pastry for lunch, but I was surprised to see there were very few actual "French" food vendors or authentic French booths. MSOE had a small replica of the Eiffel Tower but other than that, it seemed pretty much like any other street festival. Maybe it gets better at night time. That was when I usually went, for the more adult fun. I think they probably have better music playing in the evening too. Next year maybe Kris and I will go back in the evening when we could do more and mingle with friends. Or then again maybe we're just getting old.
I haven't actually gone to Bastille Days since about 1992, but I remember it being a lot of fun. Maybe I don't remember things so well because it was sort of boring. I thought we would go walk around, maybe find a street vendor and have a croissant, or some other sort of French pastry for lunch, but I was surprised to see there were very few actual "French" food vendors or authentic French booths. MSOE had a small replica of the Eiffel Tower but other than that, it seemed pretty much like any other street festival. Maybe it gets better at night time. That was when I usually went, for the more adult fun. I think they probably have better music playing in the evening too. Next year maybe Kris and I will go back in the evening when we could do more and mingle with friends. Or then again maybe we're just getting old.
Thursday, July 10, 2014
Driving Lessons
We are less than a month away from Sarah's road test to get her driver's license, so I thought that it would be a good time to take her out for some much needed driving practice. We got a list from the DMV when she got her temps that listed all the driving skills she would be tested on. Two of the items that we have never practiced with her are straight line backing and parallel parking, so this is what I took her out to work on.
I thought going to a large, empty parking lot would be the best but after a few attempts at backing up in a straight line she was frustrated to the point of being in tears because she couldn't keep the car straight. We then went over to the place where her driving instructor took her to practice, which was a dead end road by a city garage. This allowed her to use the curb as a guide. So we went front and back a few times, each time ending in her saying she couldn't do it. In reality, she may have been off from 100% straight by a couple of feet. It wasn't like she was starting on the right side of the road and ending up on the left side. I didn't think she did that bad, but we'll have to see what the examiner says when it comes time for her drivers test.
Then we went to do some parallel parking. I found a couple of cars parked on the street and tried to give her some tips on how to do it. It was pretty easy, because it wasn't like pulling into a spot between two cars, we only had single cars to use. I lined it up and slowly showed her how to do it, when to turn the wheel and how much. As always, I did it perfectly. Then I let Sarah try it sitting next to her guiding her the whole way. Her first attempt was perfect, just like mine. So we tried it a couple more times, and each time she got it done, though one was a little close, just because she pulled up to close next to the car she was parking behind. When it came time to turn the wheel she just barely cleared the bumper.
She has more practice with her on the road practice coming up this week, so we'll see how she does with them, but so far I think she is doing pretty well with her practice.
I thought going to a large, empty parking lot would be the best but after a few attempts at backing up in a straight line she was frustrated to the point of being in tears because she couldn't keep the car straight. We then went over to the place where her driving instructor took her to practice, which was a dead end road by a city garage. This allowed her to use the curb as a guide. So we went front and back a few times, each time ending in her saying she couldn't do it. In reality, she may have been off from 100% straight by a couple of feet. It wasn't like she was starting on the right side of the road and ending up on the left side. I didn't think she did that bad, but we'll have to see what the examiner says when it comes time for her drivers test.
Then we went to do some parallel parking. I found a couple of cars parked on the street and tried to give her some tips on how to do it. It was pretty easy, because it wasn't like pulling into a spot between two cars, we only had single cars to use. I lined it up and slowly showed her how to do it, when to turn the wheel and how much. As always, I did it perfectly. Then I let Sarah try it sitting next to her guiding her the whole way. Her first attempt was perfect, just like mine. So we tried it a couple more times, and each time she got it done, though one was a little close, just because she pulled up to close next to the car she was parking behind. When it came time to turn the wheel she just barely cleared the bumper.
She has more practice with her on the road practice coming up this week, so we'll see how she does with them, but so far I think she is doing pretty well with her practice.
Tuesday, July 8, 2014
Hacked!
I was sitting at home, enjoying the day today when I got an email from Best Buy. The topic was "Your account has been updated". I hadn't done anything with it, so I checked to see if Kris had done anything, and she said no. So the next step was to log in to my account and see what the email was all about.
To my surprise, I (or someone) had ordered an iPad and anti-virus software, and also had added a credit card to my account, a MasterCard. The address on the card was someplace in California, but the phone number listed was mine, and obviously the email address was mine or I wouldn't have received the message about adding a credit card to my account.
The first thing I did was get on the phone to call Best Buy to see if this order could be cancelled. Well it couldn't, though the woman on the other end of the line was very helpful. She sent the report over to their fraud division and was able to at least credit my Best Buy account, though I don't know what that means since my Best Buy account wasn't billed, it was a MasterCard. But I was at least instructed in how to go about registering a fraud complaint with the major credit reporting agencies and to flag my accounts. So now I am waiting for my credit report to see if there actually are any fraudulent credit cards floating around in my name, or if it was a mistake with the order from Best Buy.
The funny thing is that if I order anything from Best Buy, I usually get an email saying that my order has been received. I never got one. What I did get however, was about 250-300 spam emails in the next 12 hours, which forced me to change my email address. So my first thought is that somehow my account was hacked into somehow. Hopefully the credit report won't show any abnormalities.
To my surprise, I (or someone) had ordered an iPad and anti-virus software, and also had added a credit card to my account, a MasterCard. The address on the card was someplace in California, but the phone number listed was mine, and obviously the email address was mine or I wouldn't have received the message about adding a credit card to my account.
The first thing I did was get on the phone to call Best Buy to see if this order could be cancelled. Well it couldn't, though the woman on the other end of the line was very helpful. She sent the report over to their fraud division and was able to at least credit my Best Buy account, though I don't know what that means since my Best Buy account wasn't billed, it was a MasterCard. But I was at least instructed in how to go about registering a fraud complaint with the major credit reporting agencies and to flag my accounts. So now I am waiting for my credit report to see if there actually are any fraudulent credit cards floating around in my name, or if it was a mistake with the order from Best Buy.
The funny thing is that if I order anything from Best Buy, I usually get an email saying that my order has been received. I never got one. What I did get however, was about 250-300 spam emails in the next 12 hours, which forced me to change my email address. So my first thought is that somehow my account was hacked into somehow. Hopefully the credit report won't show any abnormalities.
Wisdom Teeth
At Sarah's last orthodontist check up, he said that she should be checked the next time she had her regular dental exam to see if her wisdom teeth needed to come out. Well, that was last Tuesday, and the dentist said she should be evaluated by the oral surgeon to have them removed.
So her consultation was today, and he recommended that she should probably have them taken out sooner than later. He described the procedure to Sarah and she seems to be OK with it, though we will see when the time comes. After some discussion we scheduled the date, so now we're all set. Pretty soon Sarah will be without her wisdom teeth. I hope the surgeon lets her keep them.
So her consultation was today, and he recommended that she should probably have them taken out sooner than later. He described the procedure to Sarah and she seems to be OK with it, though we will see when the time comes. After some discussion we scheduled the date, so now we're all set. Pretty soon Sarah will be without her wisdom teeth. I hope the surgeon lets her keep them.
Saturday, July 5, 2014
Almost Had Another Power Outage
After the storm last week, the Village sent out notice that it would start coming around on the 8th and collecting brush and branches that came down during the storm. I thought I would take the opportunity to trim a few of the dead branches off my trees and also take off some of the ones that were growing a little bit out of control. That included the branch that has been hanging over the fence into the neighbor's yard and over his garage. However, in addition to the fence and his garage, it also goes over a bunch of electric lines. But I thought I would just cut it to the one side of the lines, so that even if it swung and dropped, it would pivot before the lines. And in addition I thought if I trimmed off some of the smaller branches coming off of it, I would be OK.
Everything was going good until I got to the point where the weight of the branch got to be too much and it started to crack at the point I was cutting it. It started to swing down, which would have been that bad, except that there was about a 3 foot branch that was left from one of the smaller ones I had previously taken off, and it was big enough so that when the large branch swung, the weight of the portion of the smaller branch that was left caused the large branch to swing around so that the crotch ended up hooking one of the electric lines. It was enough that I couldn't simply swing it back, but I still thought I was OK because it was still attached to the main branch. Unfortunately, that didn't last long. It finally gave way and dropped so that it was hung up on the electric line. I don't know exactly how much it weighed, but I had visions of the line snapping and having to call the electric company to come and fix it.
Lucky for me, the branch was long enough that some of it was touching the ground, alleviating some of the weight on the line. I was able to climb up on the roof of the neighbor's garage and lift/flip it off the line without snapping it. So I am counting my lucky stars that I didn't cause another blackout in the neighborhood, or at the very least cut off the power to my house and the next door neighbor's.
Everything was going good until I got to the point where the weight of the branch got to be too much and it started to crack at the point I was cutting it. It started to swing down, which would have been that bad, except that there was about a 3 foot branch that was left from one of the smaller ones I had previously taken off, and it was big enough so that when the large branch swung, the weight of the portion of the smaller branch that was left caused the large branch to swing around so that the crotch ended up hooking one of the electric lines. It was enough that I couldn't simply swing it back, but I still thought I was OK because it was still attached to the main branch. Unfortunately, that didn't last long. It finally gave way and dropped so that it was hung up on the electric line. I don't know exactly how much it weighed, but I had visions of the line snapping and having to call the electric company to come and fix it.
Lucky for me, the branch was long enough that some of it was touching the ground, alleviating some of the weight on the line. I was able to climb up on the roof of the neighbor's garage and lift/flip it off the line without snapping it. So I am counting my lucky stars that I didn't cause another blackout in the neighborhood, or at the very least cut off the power to my house and the next door neighbor's.
Thursday, July 3, 2014
Almost No Incidents At The Parade
Yesterday I said that things went off pretty smoothly claiming spots for the parade. Unfortunately, the parade didn't go off without incident. We heard a story around the start of the parade about someone (a child) getting hit by a car before the parade started. When we got home I turned on the news and the lead story on the news was about the accident.
Apparently, a car had gone out of control and hit three people, two of them were children and had to go to the hospital, though they weren't life threatening injuries. I don't know if I were the parent, I would be too happy either way. The accident is still under investigation, but I would be willing to bet it is going to lead to changes for the parade next year.
Apparently, a car had gone out of control and hit three people, two of them were children and had to go to the hospital, though they weren't life threatening injuries. I don't know if I were the parent, I would be too happy either way. The accident is still under investigation, but I would be willing to bet it is going to lead to changes for the parade next year.
Wednesday, July 2, 2014
Power Is Back On
Hey! Our power is back on finally, and it only took 26 and a half hours. From the news reports I was able to hear on the radio, there were 120,000 homes that had the power knocked out from the storm that rolled through here on Monday. I don't know how many times I ended up calling the electric company only to get a recording and no answers. All I wanted to get was an update of when they thought the power would be back. I drove around the neighborhood and it seems like it is only a two square block area. The people across the street have power, two blocks eat they have power, and two blocks down they have power. So I guess that since it is such a small area we are last on the list of places to get fixed.
At about 1:00 or so, Kris got through and the recording said a crew had been dispatched to investigate our situation. But I don't believe it, and here is why. We finally saw a service crew in the neighborhood around 6:30 PM. Then we saw a couple of guys walking through backyards looking at the lines shortly afterward. We got in the car and took a drive to see if we could see what they were doing, and the crew was a block over with a cherry picker, looking like they were about to go up. We decided to drive around town to see if there were any other areas that were without power. When we got back around 7:45 PM, the power was back on. So the repair took about an hour, but we had to wait 26 hours to get it done. If the repair was only an hour fix, then they should have done it when they first inspected it at 1:00 (allegedly). When I got the call from the electric company they said the outage was caused by trees, and affected 105 homes.
So overall, it cost us a bunch of food in the refrigerator and freezerand the inconvenience of not having TV, internet, etc. I was able to at least charge the cell phones in the car, but it took forever. Now I think I will start pricing a portable generator, so I can get one that I want and will run the things I need it to without being forced to go look for one the next time we lose power.
At about 1:00 or so, Kris got through and the recording said a crew had been dispatched to investigate our situation. But I don't believe it, and here is why. We finally saw a service crew in the neighborhood around 6:30 PM. Then we saw a couple of guys walking through backyards looking at the lines shortly afterward. We got in the car and took a drive to see if we could see what they were doing, and the crew was a block over with a cherry picker, looking like they were about to go up. We decided to drive around town to see if there were any other areas that were without power. When we got back around 7:45 PM, the power was back on. So the repair took about an hour, but we had to wait 26 hours to get it done. If the repair was only an hour fix, then they should have done it when they first inspected it at 1:00 (allegedly). When I got the call from the electric company they said the outage was caused by trees, and affected 105 homes.
So overall, it cost us a bunch of food in the refrigerator and freezerand the inconvenience of not having TV, internet, etc. I was able to at least charge the cell phones in the car, but it took forever. Now I think I will start pricing a portable generator, so I can get one that I want and will run the things I need it to without being forced to go look for one the next time we lose power.
Parade Prep
Now that the power is back on we can move on to more important things, like getting a spot for the annual Independence Day parade here in the Falls. Originally, the thought was that since Sarah was done with cheer and wasn't going to be in the parade this year (plus she is scheduled to work) we would skip it this year. However, Alison was very sad to hear that and convinced me to go wait for a spot.
I was shopping with Kris this morning to replace some of the stuff we had to throw out after not having power in the fridge, and just as an after thought I suggested we drive by the stadium where we have sat for the past three years (I think it has been three years now). It was 9:15 when we drove by and there were already people out there. In fact there was someone who had decided to occupy "our spot" so I told Kris we'd head home, then I would get my stuff together and come back to claim our spot and wait. I got back at 10:15 and someone had taken the spot that I was planning on grabbing (the spot next to the spot we usually sit in). So I quickly claimed the next spot over, and then it was time to wait... for eight and a half hours. Oh, did I mention it was misting, and then turned into a nice steady rain for about 20-30 minutes. It definitely was not a nice day to be staking out the spot.
So that was my day, rather uneventful after that. Though I did get to witness some verbal altercations. There were a group of cars parked next to me that I recognized from previous years, but the people were not there. Apparently they thought that parking their cars next to where they wanted to sit was sufficient. However a couple hours after I got there, a lady drove up and "claimed" that spot. then when the people with the cars showed up, there was a little bit of an argument, followed by one of the guys going to whine to the police about the lady staking off her spot too early.
I am really getting tired of this. Kris and I talked and maybe next year we'll skip it all together. At the very least I think we may move back to Appleton Avenue where I won't have to sit on the curb for eight hours. At least this year we didn't have any fisticuffs.
I was shopping with Kris this morning to replace some of the stuff we had to throw out after not having power in the fridge, and just as an after thought I suggested we drive by the stadium where we have sat for the past three years (I think it has been three years now). It was 9:15 when we drove by and there were already people out there. In fact there was someone who had decided to occupy "our spot" so I told Kris we'd head home, then I would get my stuff together and come back to claim our spot and wait. I got back at 10:15 and someone had taken the spot that I was planning on grabbing (the spot next to the spot we usually sit in). So I quickly claimed the next spot over, and then it was time to wait... for eight and a half hours. Oh, did I mention it was misting, and then turned into a nice steady rain for about 20-30 minutes. It definitely was not a nice day to be staking out the spot.
So that was my day, rather uneventful after that. Though I did get to witness some verbal altercations. There were a group of cars parked next to me that I recognized from previous years, but the people were not there. Apparently they thought that parking their cars next to where they wanted to sit was sufficient. However a couple hours after I got there, a lady drove up and "claimed" that spot. then when the people with the cars showed up, there was a little bit of an argument, followed by one of the guys going to whine to the police about the lady staking off her spot too early.
I am really getting tired of this. Kris and I talked and maybe next year we'll skip it all together. At the very least I think we may move back to Appleton Avenue where I won't have to sit on the curb for eight hours. At least this year we didn't have any fisticuffs.
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