This was a banner day for me. Since suffering through the ice storm this past winter, along with another 24 hours this summer without power, I have been trying to get my self prepared for any future times without power. While I would love to think that there will be no more, living out here in the country, I know better than that. I will, at some time in the near future, have a long period without power.
I had a borrowed generator for the ice storm. It was wonderful and kept me watching DVD's and having lights and the like. But it ran out of gasoline once before I had topped it off and I had to call upon a young friend of my late husband who rode out to the house from town and managed to get the old pull start generator going again. At that point I knew I needed my own generator. So my new one was stronger (8000 starting, 6500 running) and needed to have electric start. The older I get, I will be less likely to pull start anything. But I did not like having an entire bunch of extension cords running from outside to inside, keeping doors from closing and running just a few, select things.
Last week I started using Home Advisor to find a good local electrician to install a transfer switch that would allow me to use one special plug from the generator into an outlet outside that would send generator power into my main electric panel to power the house directly without having to use extension cords.
I had asked my nephew to assist. He really wanted to be able to do the work himself, but his union job as an electrician in Delaware has him working 6 days a week, 10 to 12 hours a day, so he just gave me some information that I used for my initial research into the project so I could talk with some knowledge to the gentlemen who arrived.
Jeff advised me about the basic transfer switch. This system allows you to select 6, 8 or 10 circuits in your main breaker box that would be powered by the generator when the power went out. The generator input comes into the new switch when the generator is on. You have to shut off the main power breaker and then turn on the generator power and it will power the circuits you have selected. My concern with this setup is the potential to allow backfeed by turning the outside power back on before turning off the generator input. This would send your generator power out into the power lines and when it hit the transformer cause issues with it and perhaps injure or kill any lineman working on the lines. It could also overload the house circuits and blow up any and all sensitive circuits and perhaps cause a fire. I know I would probably be OK, but as I age and get more feeble-minded, I would be afraid that I would do something stupid like that.
So, I set up an account on Home Advisor, input the information on what I was looking for and they sent me a list of 7 or 8 electricians in the area and, on my behalf, emailed the top three companies. One by one I heard from all of them. One called me immediately. He talked to me on the phone about what I needed and gave me a worse-case scenario estimate of cost ($1,200.00). I was called by a second one and we set up an appointment for him to come out the next day, look things over and give me a bid. The third one emailed and I called him back the next day to set up a time.
The first gentleman to arrive at the house was David from ReelTek Electric. He looked everything over and described a different type of system from the one my nephew had talked about. This was also a transfer switch of sorts, but instead of being installed AFTER the main breaker box, this would be installed BEFORE the main breaker box. This would have the main feed for the house going into the new box and a bridge cable going from that new box to the main breaker box. This new box would have a single lever with three positions (or poles)... one being outside power, one being off and one being generator. The input cable from the generator would also go to the box. This was exceedingly simple, with the switch up, the main panel would be powered by outside power. With the switch in the middle, no power would be coming into the house at all. With the switch in the down position, the entire panel would be powered by the generator. This meant that I did not have to select which circuits to run. I could run any or all of them that the generator could handle. I would probably not be able to run my dryer and the water heater could only be run if the well pump was not on, but I could have my fridge running and my freezer. The well pump could run, so I would have water to wash and flush with... novel for someone on a well.... and I could run my furnace as it is oil fired so the electric would only need to run the fan. I would probably not be able to run the central air, but I could run fans, so in hurricane season, I would be OK. What I liked about this setup was that power could only be coming from ONE source, Even if the generator was running, by flipping the switch, the power bring generated would not be backfeeding into either the house or the power grid. To me it was much safer. The quote was $1,250.00 so in line with the other one.
The next man to arrive was Tom from Mr. Electric. Mr. Electric is a franchise, from what I can tell, as I have seen the same name and signage in Maryland. Tom had mentioned in his email that he was recommending an Interlock Switch. I had researched this on the internet when I saw it in his email so I was familiar with the setup by the time he came. This was a very simple solution. He would install an generator input breaker on the main panel (moving two breakers to the bottom of the panel to make room). Then a hard plastic locking switch was installed. Basically it works like this, with your outside power breaker on, the bright red plate is situated in such a way so that one cannot switch the generator input breaker to the ON position. The main breaker has to be in the OFF position to allow the red locking panel to slide up and allow the generator input breaker to be switched to the ON position. The red plate is now situated in such a fashion as to not allow the main breaker to be turned back on until the generator switch is turned off. Once again, the generator is running the entire panel so I can pick and choose what I want to have running. Same restrictions as above as that is all based on the generator's capacity to generate power. It would be a simple setup, no additional big boxes and would only cost $725.00, saving me a chunk of change so I can put down a nice floor in my sewing room.
The last man to arrive was the first one to call. He was John from Caruke Electric. I met him out on the deck so we could look at the generator and talk about the outlet plug before going in the house. He was checking out where the outside power went in and commenting that access was being blocked by my lilac bush. He came off as very knowledgeable. He spouted off all of the terms.. transfer switch, 6, 8 or 10 circuits, input plug, etc. We went to the basement and he was impressed with the new box installation that was done when I installed the central air. He pointed out where he would install the transfer switch box and then noted that the joists in my house were not correct. (My house is well over 75 years old and is in better shape than many newer house, but he focused on the old construction that was perfectly fine 75+ years ago.) He determined that the plug outside could NOT be easily mounted on the deck but would have to be on the outside wall of the house near the driveway. I would need a longer cord to connect to it. He then said he thought his initial estimate had been too high and he could do it for $1,050.00. The entire time I got the impression that he was talking down to me and that I truly could not understand everything that was going on. So as I walked him outside, I asked him why he was recommending the 10 circuit transfer switch and not installing an interlock switch. He immediately starting talking and with, great bravado, explained how an interlock switch worked and how it caused problems because it made what is now the main panel into a sub-panel causing possible issues with floating grounds. I would have been impressed, except the system he was talking about was not the interlock switch, but the three pole transfer switch. Let's just say, he lost the job at that moment and would probably not been invited back just because of his attitude. He called the house Sunday night, Monday night and last night to see if he had gotten the job. I love caller ID, I just ignored him. I sent letters out on Monday, so he got the bad news, nicely phrased I might add, either late yesterday or today.
I selected the Mr. Electric bid of $750.00 after verifying things with my nephew, Jeff and my brother, Andy that it was a sound system and would do the job I needed it to do. I called Tom and we arranged for the job to be done today. Jim Good, one of his electricians, arrived on time this morning at 10:00 AM. He determined what needed to be done, managed to install all of the necessary breakers and wires without having to shut off the electric and then we went through the entire process of hooking up the cable, turning on the generator (although I forgot to open the gas feed so it shut off as we were going downstairs) and then turning off the main breaker and turning on the generator input. So much easier than dragging extension cords throughout the house in the dark. He was finished in an hour and a half and off to another job. Very neat, very tidy and no problem at all with putting the input plug on the deck where is it protected more from bad weather.
So I am ready for anything that a hurricane, ice storm, blizzard or even automobile accident can bring to the electric service out here in rural Chester County. I just need to make sure I have enough gas to keep the generator running! This is when keeping an eye on the weather is going to be very important.
Thursday, August 28, 2014
Wednesday, August 27, 2014
Someone who understands... such a comfort!
I have had a few days when I have not felt like doing much of anything at all. I NEED to get outside, park the pickup so the back is near the Bagster Bag and finish going through the stuff from the move in Maryland almost two years ago.
These are boxes and bags that were packed in the last big push to empty the house in Maryland after I had sold it. I did not have time to sort through the last bunch of stuff first and I had friends who helped, so I do not know what is inside any of the boxes. I was doing well getting the boxes sorted through shortly after I got the house emptied. But, in one box, I was going through stuff and came across one of Rudy's favorite watches. He always kept his watches separate... the PA watches were rugged and could handle his work... the MD watches were waterproof and prettier. This was one of the last watches he had worn.
In attending and then assisting with GriefShare sessions, I have learned that after the loss of a loved one, family members and friends that are left behind are, from time to time, ambushed by reminders of the lost person which propels them back into the depths of grief. The watch did it for me. It has been a year since I have been able to go through any more boxes. The back of the truck still has many boxes that need to be sorted and dealt with but I have just not been able to get into the back and start sorting. I guess I just do not want to be ambushed again.
Yesterday I had dinner with a dear friend, Sheila Williamson. I met her when I first started attending the GriefShare sessions. She was a helper but was dealing with the loss of two, not one but two, husbands. One was many years ago when her children were small and her husband had been killed in a tragic car accident. Her second husband had died of cancer more recently. When I called about GriefShare at the Mennonite Church, she was the one who answered the phone and she was so welcoming, I had no doubt that I would find some answers to my grief there.
Over the years since that January (2012) Sheila and I have grown closer. We share many interests. She went on the quilting retreat last fall and rekindled her interest in sewing and creating. She has included me in some of her activities and we sew pillowcases for Hershey Medical Center children once a month.
We met up at the local Walmart, yesterday, and she drove us to Downingtown to eat at Chick-Fil-A to support a fund raiser for cancer that a friend was running. It was nice to have some one-on-one time with her. We caught up on our activities and then I confided in her that I was experiencing some issues with the task of clearing out the truck. The great thing was that she totally understood my problem. She had moved into a new place last year, and had been through the same thing. She had some suggestions about how to go about some things. She also validated that my feelings were normal and that I was not the only one to ever feel that way.
It has been so wonderful to have a friend who has walked in my shoes. There are many well meaning friends who try to help me when I am down, but most of them are still married or have never suffered a family loss that gives them any idea where I am coming from. They mean well, but they just do not have a clue.
It is such a comfort to me to have someone, like Sheila, that I can talk to and who can sympathize and hug me when I need that. Thanks to Sheila, I was able to do some serious work in the basement. I am cleaning out my late husband's workshop so I can have a very nice sewing room. I was able to sit at his work bench where he made his remote control planes, sort through the pile of stuff that was there, toss the junk and all and now I just need to find homes for the tools and sand paper and the like so I can remove the work bench and make room for tables and sewing machines!!!
Sheila... I love you for your compassion and understanding. I will be looking forward to many years as your friend and hope that someday I can return the favor for what you were able to do for me yesterday!
These are boxes and bags that were packed in the last big push to empty the house in Maryland after I had sold it. I did not have time to sort through the last bunch of stuff first and I had friends who helped, so I do not know what is inside any of the boxes. I was doing well getting the boxes sorted through shortly after I got the house emptied. But, in one box, I was going through stuff and came across one of Rudy's favorite watches. He always kept his watches separate... the PA watches were rugged and could handle his work... the MD watches were waterproof and prettier. This was one of the last watches he had worn.
In attending and then assisting with GriefShare sessions, I have learned that after the loss of a loved one, family members and friends that are left behind are, from time to time, ambushed by reminders of the lost person which propels them back into the depths of grief. The watch did it for me. It has been a year since I have been able to go through any more boxes. The back of the truck still has many boxes that need to be sorted and dealt with but I have just not been able to get into the back and start sorting. I guess I just do not want to be ambushed again.
Yesterday I had dinner with a dear friend, Sheila Williamson. I met her when I first started attending the GriefShare sessions. She was a helper but was dealing with the loss of two, not one but two, husbands. One was many years ago when her children were small and her husband had been killed in a tragic car accident. Her second husband had died of cancer more recently. When I called about GriefShare at the Mennonite Church, she was the one who answered the phone and she was so welcoming, I had no doubt that I would find some answers to my grief there.
Over the years since that January (2012) Sheila and I have grown closer. We share many interests. She went on the quilting retreat last fall and rekindled her interest in sewing and creating. She has included me in some of her activities and we sew pillowcases for Hershey Medical Center children once a month.
We met up at the local Walmart, yesterday, and she drove us to Downingtown to eat at Chick-Fil-A to support a fund raiser for cancer that a friend was running. It was nice to have some one-on-one time with her. We caught up on our activities and then I confided in her that I was experiencing some issues with the task of clearing out the truck. The great thing was that she totally understood my problem. She had moved into a new place last year, and had been through the same thing. She had some suggestions about how to go about some things. She also validated that my feelings were normal and that I was not the only one to ever feel that way.
It has been so wonderful to have a friend who has walked in my shoes. There are many well meaning friends who try to help me when I am down, but most of them are still married or have never suffered a family loss that gives them any idea where I am coming from. They mean well, but they just do not have a clue.
It is such a comfort to me to have someone, like Sheila, that I can talk to and who can sympathize and hug me when I need that. Thanks to Sheila, I was able to do some serious work in the basement. I am cleaning out my late husband's workshop so I can have a very nice sewing room. I was able to sit at his work bench where he made his remote control planes, sort through the pile of stuff that was there, toss the junk and all and now I just need to find homes for the tools and sand paper and the like so I can remove the work bench and make room for tables and sewing machines!!!
Sheila... I love you for your compassion and understanding. I will be looking forward to many years as your friend and hope that someday I can return the favor for what you were able to do for me yesterday!
Sunday, August 24, 2014
Pillowcases and Winston's Revenge...
Yesterday was a very nice day.
I was up early, van packed and off to pick up Patty Nafzinger from church and then to Ephrata to meet Sheila Williamson at Piece By Piece Quilt Shop to use their fabric kits and their classroom to sew pillowcases for the Hershey Medical Center where they give them to children who are admitted. The child gets to select the pillowcase of their choice and then take it home with them when they go home. I have heard that they go through over 500 pillowcases per month. Anyway, we try to go in monthly to make some.... not many, but usually about 20+ each session. We keep trying to get more of our fellow sewers to come join us, but they always seem to be too busy to help.
Winston woke up Saturday all bright-eyed and bushy tailed. He was bouncy and happy and showing nothing of the strange dog that he had been on Friday. He was almost looking forward to being able to have a day with Mom... or so it seemed, so I was very unhappy to have to put him in his crate for the better part of the day.
His crate sits in the living room. It is covered with a woven throw that was from the house in Maryland. J. J. suggested that I cover his crate after Winston showed a preference to live under the bed. He told me that dogs go back to animals that live in dens... makes sense.... so by making it darker, Winston might seem more secure inside the crate if it were darker. And Winston does like to go into the crate... on his own... from time to time, including the day he was on his own in the house for a couple of hours.
Right now I have some jelly rolls and charm packs on top of the crate as I decide which ones will go with which project as well as which project will go to the Outer Banks at the end of September. Usually, when I have left Winston in his crate since adding the throw for darkness, I would lift up the side so there would be a nice flow of air through the crate while I was gone. I was in a hurry and forgot to do that.
When I got home, Winston was curled up in his crate, quietly waiting for me to let him out. It is funny, he does not yet get excited to hear me at the door or even when I open the crate to free him. It is not until he gets out and is able to stretch that I begin to see his tail start to wag and a slight bounce in his step. I noted that a couple of the jelly rolls and a charm pack were on the floor. I figured that he must have tugged on the side or jumped and bumped the top and had one or two fall off the top. I thought nothing of it.
This is how his crate currently looks with the throw covering top and a couple of sides...
Today I placed Winston in his crate so I could go to Sunday School and Church, I remembered to lift the side up to get better air flow while I was gone. This is what I found. Totally explains why the jelly rolls and charm pack were found on the floor. Let's just say that this is now completely Winston's throw. He got his revenge for leaving him alone in his crate....!
I was up early, van packed and off to pick up Patty Nafzinger from church and then to Ephrata to meet Sheila Williamson at Piece By Piece Quilt Shop to use their fabric kits and their classroom to sew pillowcases for the Hershey Medical Center where they give them to children who are admitted. The child gets to select the pillowcase of their choice and then take it home with them when they go home. I have heard that they go through over 500 pillowcases per month. Anyway, we try to go in monthly to make some.... not many, but usually about 20+ each session. We keep trying to get more of our fellow sewers to come join us, but they always seem to be too busy to help.
Winston woke up Saturday all bright-eyed and bushy tailed. He was bouncy and happy and showing nothing of the strange dog that he had been on Friday. He was almost looking forward to being able to have a day with Mom... or so it seemed, so I was very unhappy to have to put him in his crate for the better part of the day.
His crate sits in the living room. It is covered with a woven throw that was from the house in Maryland. J. J. suggested that I cover his crate after Winston showed a preference to live under the bed. He told me that dogs go back to animals that live in dens... makes sense.... so by making it darker, Winston might seem more secure inside the crate if it were darker. And Winston does like to go into the crate... on his own... from time to time, including the day he was on his own in the house for a couple of hours.
Right now I have some jelly rolls and charm packs on top of the crate as I decide which ones will go with which project as well as which project will go to the Outer Banks at the end of September. Usually, when I have left Winston in his crate since adding the throw for darkness, I would lift up the side so there would be a nice flow of air through the crate while I was gone. I was in a hurry and forgot to do that.
When I got home, Winston was curled up in his crate, quietly waiting for me to let him out. It is funny, he does not yet get excited to hear me at the door or even when I open the crate to free him. It is not until he gets out and is able to stretch that I begin to see his tail start to wag and a slight bounce in his step. I noted that a couple of the jelly rolls and a charm pack were on the floor. I figured that he must have tugged on the side or jumped and bumped the top and had one or two fall off the top. I thought nothing of it.
This is how his crate currently looks with the throw covering top and a couple of sides...
Today I placed Winston in his crate so I could go to Sunday School and Church, I remembered to lift the side up to get better air flow while I was gone. This is what I found. Totally explains why the jelly rolls and charm pack were found on the floor. Let's just say that this is now completely Winston's throw. He got his revenge for leaving him alone in his crate....!
Friday, August 22, 2014
Electricians and WInston goes Nuts..... Again!
Up early, a little before 7:00 AM. I really would like to sleep in more, but my body seems to decide when it has had enough sleep and I am awake. I find I am sleeping about 6+ hours each night. Some nights more, but I also find I catch a good nap in the recliner from time to time, so total sleep during a 24 hour period is probably more like 7+. But I am finding that Winston is not the one getting up first, I am waking and then he gets up....
Today was final visits from local electricians to give me estimates on their ideas of how to properly hook up my generator. The first gentleman wants to put in a 3 pole manual transfer switch for $1250.00. This morning I met Tom from Mr. Electric. He suggested a Breaker Interlock Switch in the breaker Panel that I already have. he would be moving the top two breakers to the bottom empty spaces and install a double breaker in the top of the panel that would become a generator input to the panel. The there would be a sliding plate that would not allow the generator input from becoming active until the total house power breaker is thrown. Doing it this way would allow the generator to power all of the circuits in the house. I would NOT be able to use my dryer. I would NOT be able to use my central air. I would NOT be able to use the Hot Water Heater all of the major items were off. But I could power the well pump, I could use my stove (propane), I would have fridge and freezer running, I would have internet, phone and TV. I would also have the ability to open the garage door, turn on the security system, have any light I needed, run my oil furnace and my internal security cameras. He can get me all set up for $725.00 and can get me on his schedule for next week. What I like about this system is that there is no way for me to accidentally cause any kind of back feed by having PECO power and generator power working through the panel at the same time.
Later in the day I had John from Caruke Electric come to the house. His solution is to install the normal 6, 8 or 10 circuit transfer switch. This would be a separate panel installed after main panel. The line from the generator would go into the new panel and would then tie into the main panel circuit by circuit, based on my best guess as to what I might need. The well would take up 2 circuits, and that would leave just a few to be chosen for generator power. But there is no safety mechanism, other than knowing what you are doing, to prevent back feed when regular power is restored. John had given me an initial estimate on the phone of $1200.00, top end. After seeing what he would be working with, that was reduced to $1050.00 for the job. I asked him why he was not recommending an Interlock switch and he started explaining why it was iffy..... but the setup he was telling me about was the three pole manual transfer switch. He made a good point about that setup as the three pole panel is actually installed BEFORE the current main panel, making the main panel actually a sub-panel. And then you run into issues with ground wires becoming a floating ground and perhaps causing problems.
So, I have contacted Tom, from Mr. Electric, to schedule an install of the Interlock Switch that will give me the ability to run as much of the house as the generator will allow and the safety of not being able to have the main PECO power running the panel at the same time as the generator feed. I will notify the others of my decision once I have my time scheduled with the other.
It has been interesting to meet the three men. I only knew of one way to do a transfer switch for a generator. I was glad that each one had their own, preferred method to accomplish the same thing. I am more knowledgeable because of it and feel I will have a much more flexible system as I can turn off systems/circuits that cause too much drain on the generator while having such things as running water to flush toilets whenever I need it.
Now..... Winston! He went around the bend again today. He started off by throwing up his breakfast on the rug in the kitchen as I was doing dishes. After the first gentleman left, Winston's ears became flattened to his head like he was once again hearing a loud noise. He paced and could not sit still. At one point he jumped up in my lap when I still had my feel on the ground. I started petting him and he started climbing up to stand on my shoulder and looking out the side window. (Molly used to do this from time to time and I thought it was just a Molly thing). The higher he climbed, the more the recliner started to tip in the direction of the window. The more it tipped, the more animated Winston became. I was trying to get hold of my 18 pound puppy and he was just trying to climb higher. He got so excited or scared that he started puffing little turdlets out of his rear end, down my shoulder and into my lap.... not many but one was more than enough. So I wrestled him back down to the ground and whisked him outside. He did not finish the job, so it must have been just an involuntary response.
So, after coming back in, he continued to pace. I had the bedroom door open and, for a while, the bathroom door. He would disappear under the bed and then appear again. At one point I heard him scratching on something, so I went to see what he was doing. I went into the bedroom but could not find him. He was not in the kitchen, but I could hear the scratching. I finally turned the bathroom light on and there he was IN THE TUB. He had managed to get over the edge from the outside but could not get enough traction to get back out. I got him out and within about 10 minutes, he was back in the tub. So I closed that door and he has remained under the bed when he was not out in the living room with me.
Tomorrow I will be gone most of the day, so he will be penned up in the crate. It will be interesting to see what Sunday brings!!! I just wish I knew what was happening so I could make it stop. Might need another trip to the vet!
Today was final visits from local electricians to give me estimates on their ideas of how to properly hook up my generator. The first gentleman wants to put in a 3 pole manual transfer switch for $1250.00. This morning I met Tom from Mr. Electric. He suggested a Breaker Interlock Switch in the breaker Panel that I already have. he would be moving the top two breakers to the bottom empty spaces and install a double breaker in the top of the panel that would become a generator input to the panel. The there would be a sliding plate that would not allow the generator input from becoming active until the total house power breaker is thrown. Doing it this way would allow the generator to power all of the circuits in the house. I would NOT be able to use my dryer. I would NOT be able to use my central air. I would NOT be able to use the Hot Water Heater all of the major items were off. But I could power the well pump, I could use my stove (propane), I would have fridge and freezer running, I would have internet, phone and TV. I would also have the ability to open the garage door, turn on the security system, have any light I needed, run my oil furnace and my internal security cameras. He can get me all set up for $725.00 and can get me on his schedule for next week. What I like about this system is that there is no way for me to accidentally cause any kind of back feed by having PECO power and generator power working through the panel at the same time.
Later in the day I had John from Caruke Electric come to the house. His solution is to install the normal 6, 8 or 10 circuit transfer switch. This would be a separate panel installed after main panel. The line from the generator would go into the new panel and would then tie into the main panel circuit by circuit, based on my best guess as to what I might need. The well would take up 2 circuits, and that would leave just a few to be chosen for generator power. But there is no safety mechanism, other than knowing what you are doing, to prevent back feed when regular power is restored. John had given me an initial estimate on the phone of $1200.00, top end. After seeing what he would be working with, that was reduced to $1050.00 for the job. I asked him why he was not recommending an Interlock switch and he started explaining why it was iffy..... but the setup he was telling me about was the three pole manual transfer switch. He made a good point about that setup as the three pole panel is actually installed BEFORE the current main panel, making the main panel actually a sub-panel. And then you run into issues with ground wires becoming a floating ground and perhaps causing problems.
So, I have contacted Tom, from Mr. Electric, to schedule an install of the Interlock Switch that will give me the ability to run as much of the house as the generator will allow and the safety of not being able to have the main PECO power running the panel at the same time as the generator feed. I will notify the others of my decision once I have my time scheduled with the other.
It has been interesting to meet the three men. I only knew of one way to do a transfer switch for a generator. I was glad that each one had their own, preferred method to accomplish the same thing. I am more knowledgeable because of it and feel I will have a much more flexible system as I can turn off systems/circuits that cause too much drain on the generator while having such things as running water to flush toilets whenever I need it.
Now..... Winston! He went around the bend again today. He started off by throwing up his breakfast on the rug in the kitchen as I was doing dishes. After the first gentleman left, Winston's ears became flattened to his head like he was once again hearing a loud noise. He paced and could not sit still. At one point he jumped up in my lap when I still had my feel on the ground. I started petting him and he started climbing up to stand on my shoulder and looking out the side window. (Molly used to do this from time to time and I thought it was just a Molly thing). The higher he climbed, the more the recliner started to tip in the direction of the window. The more it tipped, the more animated Winston became. I was trying to get hold of my 18 pound puppy and he was just trying to climb higher. He got so excited or scared that he started puffing little turdlets out of his rear end, down my shoulder and into my lap.... not many but one was more than enough. So I wrestled him back down to the ground and whisked him outside. He did not finish the job, so it must have been just an involuntary response.
So, after coming back in, he continued to pace. I had the bedroom door open and, for a while, the bathroom door. He would disappear under the bed and then appear again. At one point I heard him scratching on something, so I went to see what he was doing. I went into the bedroom but could not find him. He was not in the kitchen, but I could hear the scratching. I finally turned the bathroom light on and there he was IN THE TUB. He had managed to get over the edge from the outside but could not get enough traction to get back out. I got him out and within about 10 minutes, he was back in the tub. So I closed that door and he has remained under the bed when he was not out in the living room with me.
Tomorrow I will be gone most of the day, so he will be penned up in the crate. It will be interesting to see what Sunday brings!!! I just wish I knew what was happening so I could make it stop. Might need another trip to the vet!
Thursday, August 21, 2014
Busy Day, but Backwards for Winston.....
I was up early as I had to take my Elantra in for an oil change and some recall work... getting an undercoating since I live where salt is used liberally when we have ice and snow in the winter.
So, I got up and made coffee. Winston went through his morning routine, out, breakfast, out again, petting time and then wandering around the house a bit. I showered and dressed and began sneaking the Elantra key, my purse and phone out to the porch so I could get out of the house and leave Winston alone but loose in the house while I was gone.
I was ready with time to spare and Winston decided to jump up and sit in my lap for some loving. He loves having his fur ruffled and ears rubbed. He even likes being brushed. Each time he decides it is time for some petting, the duration gets longer and longer. So, it was not long after he got down that I needed to head out.
I had a card that I needed to take with me, so I grabbed that as I headed out the door. This time he was following me to the door (he did not do that the other day) and I am sure, that as quiet as I tried to be with my keys after the inside door closed, that he heard the jingle and before I was even out on the deck, I heard a very strong scratching at the back door. He knew where I had gone and that I had my keys.
So I turned around, fearing the condition I might find my door when I returned, picked up Winston and secured him in his crate, locked tightly, as he barked and barked and barked. Oh well, it may be a few more days or weeks before I try leaving him alone again.
Went to Colonial Hyundai in Downingtown. I love the car. I dislike having to go to the dealer. The service representatives are friendly enough as there performance depends on my reply to a survey... as you are told in no uncertain terms when you pay your bill. But the other folks always seemed to be rushed, overworked and angry. Plus, parking in that lot is ridiculous and they are working on part of it so there were less spots than normal. I will be happy when the warranty runs out and I can go someplace else for the normal stuff.
I then headed to Sam's Club to pick up a few things and headed home. I came home and released Winston from his crate. I found messages from two of the electricians, one asking if I had gotten his estimate and the other wanting to set up a Friday appointment. I called both and then put the stuff I had purchased away.
Tomorrow will be a final day of estimates. I will be getting the estimate on the interlock switch around 11:00 AM and the limited circuit system around 2:00 PM. My nephew, Jeff, called me today to get an update on what I was learning. He is an electrician in Delaware but does more industrial stuff and had given me some advice initially on what to look for as I began. We talked about the three different systems that I was finding available and felt that the two estimates were in the ball park for what I would be getting but also wanted to be sure I got information on the Interlock Switch as it sounded like a more simple solution. So check here tomorrow as I will have made my decision and contracted with one of them to get the work done, hopefully before a hurricane decides to come up the coast and leave me without electricity... which reminds me, I need to go out and get gas in my portable tanks.... just in case!
The rest of the day has been quiet. Burgers in the grill for dinner... Winston got one, too. He is asleep under the computer table and I am watching Castle and Little League Baseball. A Philly team is in the running and are playing Chicago tonight. Right now they are losing.
So, early to bed tonight. Big day tomorrow.
So, I got up and made coffee. Winston went through his morning routine, out, breakfast, out again, petting time and then wandering around the house a bit. I showered and dressed and began sneaking the Elantra key, my purse and phone out to the porch so I could get out of the house and leave Winston alone but loose in the house while I was gone.
I was ready with time to spare and Winston decided to jump up and sit in my lap for some loving. He loves having his fur ruffled and ears rubbed. He even likes being brushed. Each time he decides it is time for some petting, the duration gets longer and longer. So, it was not long after he got down that I needed to head out.
I had a card that I needed to take with me, so I grabbed that as I headed out the door. This time he was following me to the door (he did not do that the other day) and I am sure, that as quiet as I tried to be with my keys after the inside door closed, that he heard the jingle and before I was even out on the deck, I heard a very strong scratching at the back door. He knew where I had gone and that I had my keys.
So I turned around, fearing the condition I might find my door when I returned, picked up Winston and secured him in his crate, locked tightly, as he barked and barked and barked. Oh well, it may be a few more days or weeks before I try leaving him alone again.
Went to Colonial Hyundai in Downingtown. I love the car. I dislike having to go to the dealer. The service representatives are friendly enough as there performance depends on my reply to a survey... as you are told in no uncertain terms when you pay your bill. But the other folks always seemed to be rushed, overworked and angry. Plus, parking in that lot is ridiculous and they are working on part of it so there were less spots than normal. I will be happy when the warranty runs out and I can go someplace else for the normal stuff.
I then headed to Sam's Club to pick up a few things and headed home. I came home and released Winston from his crate. I found messages from two of the electricians, one asking if I had gotten his estimate and the other wanting to set up a Friday appointment. I called both and then put the stuff I had purchased away.
Tomorrow will be a final day of estimates. I will be getting the estimate on the interlock switch around 11:00 AM and the limited circuit system around 2:00 PM. My nephew, Jeff, called me today to get an update on what I was learning. He is an electrician in Delaware but does more industrial stuff and had given me some advice initially on what to look for as I began. We talked about the three different systems that I was finding available and felt that the two estimates were in the ball park for what I would be getting but also wanted to be sure I got information on the Interlock Switch as it sounded like a more simple solution. So check here tomorrow as I will have made my decision and contracted with one of them to get the work done, hopefully before a hurricane decides to come up the coast and leave me without electricity... which reminds me, I need to go out and get gas in my portable tanks.... just in case!
The rest of the day has been quiet. Burgers in the grill for dinner... Winston got one, too. He is asleep under the computer table and I am watching Castle and Little League Baseball. A Philly team is in the running and are playing Chicago tonight. Right now they are losing.
So, early to bed tonight. Big day tomorrow.
Wednesday, August 20, 2014
Winston, Home Alone...!!
Winston has, thank goodness, returned to being a normal dog. I still have no idea why he was so un-nerved, but he was for about 16 hours. He has calmed down and has actually become more affectionate and likes keeping himself at my feet. I have started leaving the bedroom door open. I figured if he needs to go under the bed, then he needs to go under the bed. And now that he can, he still goes in for a while, but most of the time he is under the foot of my recliner or under the computer table on his designated area. He even has begun to jump up into my lap for some petting time and each session gets longer and longer.
Today I had visitors from my Banker's Life guys and he welcomed them with few barks and then wiggles and requests for petting. He went from person to person for attention and got what he wanted. I cannot even imagine how totally spoiled he is going to be after coming back from the Outer Banks and having 8 women to spoil him.
Up until today, I have felt it necessary to lock Winston in his crate when I would leave the house to go shopping where he cannot go. I had planned to be away for only an hour, but today it ended up being more like 2 hours. Since he was being so laid back and just resting under my feet and not being nutsy, I decided to see what he would do if left on his own in the house.
I had him out earlier so I took advantage of that to sneak my keys, pocketbook and a package I needed to drop at UPS out onto the outside porch. I have to sneak out of the house because once Winston hears the keys, he knows something is happening and it includes a car and he is at the door trying to go wherever the car is going. So I put the stuff out so he would not know what was happening. I got ready, said goodbye to Winston (who had no idea what I was saying) and went out the door.
I had four places to go... the bank, Home Depot, The UPS Store and Walmart. The bank was quick, Home Depot a little longer as I was getting prices on the stuff I need for the floor in the basement sewing room. Dropping off the little box at the UPS Store was fast... Walmsrt was longer than I planned as I was looking for something I had seen in the past but could not find.
So, I pulled in the driveway and wondered what I was going to find. Had Winston gotten up on the couch and punished me by digging into the couch with stuffing all over the living room? Had he decided to scratch at the back door, trying to get to the last place he saw me going? Did he go into the bedroom and rip up carpet?? What was I in for?
I opened the door and peeked inside... no couch stuffing on the floor...Good! No splinters in the kitchen, back door in tact... Good! So I walked in farther and called for Winston..... and where did he come from??? His Crate!!! Silly dog, he had the whole house to himself, but he went to his comfortable place which was his crate. I am guessing that I will be leaving Winston out of the crate more often! He must be finally feeling at home!!!
Today I had visitors from my Banker's Life guys and he welcomed them with few barks and then wiggles and requests for petting. He went from person to person for attention and got what he wanted. I cannot even imagine how totally spoiled he is going to be after coming back from the Outer Banks and having 8 women to spoil him.
Up until today, I have felt it necessary to lock Winston in his crate when I would leave the house to go shopping where he cannot go. I had planned to be away for only an hour, but today it ended up being more like 2 hours. Since he was being so laid back and just resting under my feet and not being nutsy, I decided to see what he would do if left on his own in the house.
I had him out earlier so I took advantage of that to sneak my keys, pocketbook and a package I needed to drop at UPS out onto the outside porch. I have to sneak out of the house because once Winston hears the keys, he knows something is happening and it includes a car and he is at the door trying to go wherever the car is going. So I put the stuff out so he would not know what was happening. I got ready, said goodbye to Winston (who had no idea what I was saying) and went out the door.
I had four places to go... the bank, Home Depot, The UPS Store and Walmart. The bank was quick, Home Depot a little longer as I was getting prices on the stuff I need for the floor in the basement sewing room. Dropping off the little box at the UPS Store was fast... Walmsrt was longer than I planned as I was looking for something I had seen in the past but could not find.
So, I pulled in the driveway and wondered what I was going to find. Had Winston gotten up on the couch and punished me by digging into the couch with stuffing all over the living room? Had he decided to scratch at the back door, trying to get to the last place he saw me going? Did he go into the bedroom and rip up carpet?? What was I in for?
I opened the door and peeked inside... no couch stuffing on the floor...Good! No splinters in the kitchen, back door in tact... Good! So I walked in farther and called for Winston..... and where did he come from??? His Crate!!! Silly dog, he had the whole house to himself, but he went to his comfortable place which was his crate. I am guessing that I will be leaving Winston out of the crate more often! He must be finally feeling at home!!!
Tuesday, August 19, 2014
A New Day, A New Dog and a bit of the elephant.....
I was up early as I had a 9:00 AM appointment with an electrician to give me an estimate on getting a transfer switch so I can just plug my generator into an outlet on the deck, throw a couple of breakers and switches and my whole house will be running until PECO gets things up and running. Dave, from Reeltek Electric arrived on time and looked at my power box, the setup in the basement and the generator/location. He suggested a manual transfer switch. Essentially he would install a panel with a large lever. The feed from PECO would go into this box. Then, another feed wire would go from the new box into the breaker box. When I am paying for the power from PECO the switch would be up, to turn the power off, the lever would be in the middle and to run stuff by generator, the switch would be down. There is no selecting which circuit to run in an 6, 8 or 10 circuit box. It will run everything, with the exception of the central air. I might even get to have hot, running water... but the furnace will run, the well will run, fridge, stove, all lights and computers, internet and phone.... just like nothing was wrong. I might even be able to sew! My internet cameras will work, so folks can check in to see what I am up to. Dave said it is one of the best ways to runa whole house and it is safe as there is no way to have PECO feeding wires AND the generator on at the same time. Not cheap.. his bid was $1250.00 and he might be able to be here to do the work on Friday.
I had spoken to another electrician last night. He will be coming by tomorrow or Wednesday to estimate the cost of a normal transfer switch that will run a limited number of circuits, He also estimated close to $1200.00. I know the boxes involved are very expensive. I also saw another one mention an Interlock Switch which installs in the current box and will also run the whole house. I will contact him to come down and give me an estimate.
After the electrician left, I began working on my elephant. I brought up a big trash bag from the basement. Cleaned up a light that had been in the garage from the Maryland house and took it to the basement. I will connect it up to the motion detector as it had been in Maryland so it will come on as soon as someone walks into the room. Then I got side-tracked to another elephant bite and began to sort through the stuff that piles up in the inside porch. Tomorrow is trash day, so I usually do some kind of sorting, cleaning to fill up the garbage can. I have a compactor and being just me... and now Winston... I do not always have a lot of garbage, so I usually find an area and clean it up to help fill the can. The nice thing is that for now, I can walk around the inside porch.
Even better was that I have a whole, new dog today. Winston has been a lovely little dog. He properly barked at Dave when he came up on the porch and wiggled and welcomed him at the same time. Dave must be a dog person as he really was not phased by Winston trying to help him investigate the generator. He followed me everywhere today. I was doing a lot of my sorting out on the deck and he seemed to be happy to have me out there when he was wandering around the yard. At one point I came inside to get cooled down. Winston hopped up on the recliner and, as much as he could (he is bigger than Molly so he is arm to arm in the recliner), he curled up and wanted to be petted for close to 45 minutes. I left the bedroom door open today but he spent most of his time walking wherever I was, asleep under the foot rest of the recliner or under the computer table where I have put Molly's old, fake lambskin. He has eaten everything thing in sight and been the perfect little companion that I had wanted when I drove to Kentucky. I guess we were just going through another period of adjustment. I am sure we are not done... poor Winston has been through quite a lot in the past few months. I have to continue to work to gain his confidence. But, otday, he was exactly the dog I was hoping he would become! I love my little fella!!
I had spoken to another electrician last night. He will be coming by tomorrow or Wednesday to estimate the cost of a normal transfer switch that will run a limited number of circuits, He also estimated close to $1200.00. I know the boxes involved are very expensive. I also saw another one mention an Interlock Switch which installs in the current box and will also run the whole house. I will contact him to come down and give me an estimate.
After the electrician left, I began working on my elephant. I brought up a big trash bag from the basement. Cleaned up a light that had been in the garage from the Maryland house and took it to the basement. I will connect it up to the motion detector as it had been in Maryland so it will come on as soon as someone walks into the room. Then I got side-tracked to another elephant bite and began to sort through the stuff that piles up in the inside porch. Tomorrow is trash day, so I usually do some kind of sorting, cleaning to fill up the garbage can. I have a compactor and being just me... and now Winston... I do not always have a lot of garbage, so I usually find an area and clean it up to help fill the can. The nice thing is that for now, I can walk around the inside porch.
Even better was that I have a whole, new dog today. Winston has been a lovely little dog. He properly barked at Dave when he came up on the porch and wiggled and welcomed him at the same time. Dave must be a dog person as he really was not phased by Winston trying to help him investigate the generator. He followed me everywhere today. I was doing a lot of my sorting out on the deck and he seemed to be happy to have me out there when he was wandering around the yard. At one point I came inside to get cooled down. Winston hopped up on the recliner and, as much as he could (he is bigger than Molly so he is arm to arm in the recliner), he curled up and wanted to be petted for close to 45 minutes. I left the bedroom door open today but he spent most of his time walking wherever I was, asleep under the foot rest of the recliner or under the computer table where I have put Molly's old, fake lambskin. He has eaten everything thing in sight and been the perfect little companion that I had wanted when I drove to Kentucky. I guess we were just going through another period of adjustment. I am sure we are not done... poor Winston has been through quite a lot in the past few months. I have to continue to work to gain his confidence. But, otday, he was exactly the dog I was hoping he would become! I love my little fella!!
Sunday, August 17, 2014
Lost my Oomph today...
Yesterday was a long day for me. I spent time with the OBX ladies planning for our retreat in September/October. It was great seeing everyone and everyone is getting excited to get to our house and be creative and carefree for a week.
That was the fun part of the day.
I got home to a totally paranoid dog. I still have no idea what got into Winston, but I was very concerned about him, did not sleep at all well and just had no energy or desire to do anything besides just chill today.
And since no one is really concerned about what I do, I indulged and did nothing!
Everyone needs a day like that once in a while.
Winston was his normal self today!!!
That was the fun part of the day.
I got home to a totally paranoid dog. I still have no idea what got into Winston, but I was very concerned about him, did not sleep at all well and just had no energy or desire to do anything besides just chill today.
And since no one is really concerned about what I do, I indulged and did nothing!
Everyone needs a day like that once in a while.
Winston was his normal self today!!!
Saturday, August 16, 2014
Trying Hard to Do My Best....
I was struck today how many women seem to suffer in silence. I was with 6 lovely friends, some old friends that I am very close to, some newer that I am still learning about.
Of these ladies, three are widows and one is divorced. Two are married and one is in a long-term relationship with a man and they are living together in her home.
I have been organizing a sewing/crafting retreat that will be the first week in October on the Outer Banks. Today was our planning lunch. We hit the highlights. This is our 4th year of getting together, the 3rd one where we spend the time laughing and sewing and letting our hair down. I was enjoying listening to the chatter of a group of ladies who got together in an organization and then finding a mutual joy of creating and sucking other lost ladies into our web of fabric and thread.
I say lost, as most of the newer crafters have found a passion in creating items and enjoy being together to teach and learn from each other. Those who were creative before have found fun being among others who share their passions.
I looked around the table. I saw 7 people, including myself in that group, and knowing things that are going on in a few of their lives, realized that the smiles and laughter are either a well-deserved break from the things in their normal lives OR devices that are hiding the struggles in order to try to cope.
One of the ladies had a parent who is suffering from a long-term illness that is robbing her of that parent. She is angry, and who would blame her, especially since she feels the parent is not getting proper care and she is powerless to do anything about it.
One of the ladies has an addicted daughter who is fighting those demons (and currently winning) while trying to raise my friend's granddaughter alone.
One of the ladies has a spouse who is facing surgery and perhaps bills from what the insurance does not pay.
One lady is working well past the age when she should be retired and enjoying being free to enjoy life. And the job she has finds her working a graveyard shift and sometimes as many as 12 hours a shift.
One of the ladies has several serious health conditions. She has wonderful insurance but does not always seek the help that this insurance can afford her. She sees it as wasteful, not seeing herself as worthy of such treatment. She also does not want to be taking a great many meds. She takes plenty now and tends to be sensitive to any new medicine that is introduced. So she suffers with pains and hurts which makes her life very difficult.
One of the ladies has moved into a new home, sharing a lot with her son and his wife. There is tension between this wonderful lady and her DIL. Even though they do not share a domicile, their close proximity is not being well received by the DIL, so they are struggling to work things out.
And then there is me! I have decent health, although I am overweight and have already had a knee replaced. I live alone in my home since I lost my husband in 2011. I have just rescued a dog, so I have a new companion, but we are still getting to know one another. There are things I want to do, but find I either cannot do them or am not motivated to do them.
I am trying to make my little home just perfect for me as I age. I have already gotten a comfort height toilet installed so my next knee surgery will be easy to recover from at home. I have started painting my living room/dining room and ran into a wall where water had damaged the plaster years BEFORE I bought the house. I have had friends seal the cinder block chimney with DriLock Paint and then put a cap on top to keep water from coming in. Now no water comes in. I have to seal the fragile plaster and then find a way to cover the wall so I can finish the painting. (There is also another place that has to be fixed on another wall, but that will be for another day!) I got a big generator last winter and I need to get a transfer switch set up and an outdoor plug that will allow me to plug one cord into the outdoor plug, turn off the outside power and use the transfer switch to run my house instead of having miles of extension cords running through the house. My nephew indicated that he might be able to help, but so far it has not worked out. So I either need to know he will help or I will have to find an electrician to do the job and I will pay for it. But this MUST happen before the next winter comes in.
I am also re-purposing the work room in my basement that my late husband used for his wood working. I am farther along than I thought I would be since we did not find mold behind the walls and they were already sealed, but I need to continue cleaning up and getting rid of things. I have to lug trash bags up stairs and put them out in a Bagster bag that is outside. My lawn guy moved the bag last week so he could mow but did not move it back. Where he left it blocked the mail carrier from leaving mail, so I had to lug it back. I have to talk with him this week and either have him mow around it, or not mow that section of the yard until it is gone.
I have realized that over the years, I had been silently encouraged by my husband to do the things that needed to be done. If he was working or putzing around, then I kept busy. If the task really needed two people, we worked together. Now there is no one but me. And there is no one to encourage me. And no one who really cares if I get done what I want to get done.
And when it comes to these trips and things, well, I load the van alone, I have help unloading at the location. I get help loading at the location, but am alone to unload. This is getting old!! It took over a week to get the van unloaded after Fancy Gap.
But, there is only one thing I can do. I can put one foot in front of the other every day. I can only eat one little piece of the elephant in order to get to my goal. I can only do the best I can everyday and hopefully get to the end of what I want to do.
There are many days when I feel so very alone. I stay busy with Lions Club, PABA, church activities, making plans for trips, taking care of Winston (who is acting really oddly this afternoon. He is hiding under the bed and actually seems genuinely frightened. He must be hearing something I cannot hear. I wish I could help him... does anyone have doggie ear plugs??)
So, anyway... looking around, there is not anyone in this life who does not have a trial or tribulation in their lives. How we deal with those roadblocks really determines the thread of our life. I pray that my accomplishments will be adequate to get me to my goals.
With God, all things are possible.... so God help me, I will get this done.
Of these ladies, three are widows and one is divorced. Two are married and one is in a long-term relationship with a man and they are living together in her home.
I have been organizing a sewing/crafting retreat that will be the first week in October on the Outer Banks. Today was our planning lunch. We hit the highlights. This is our 4th year of getting together, the 3rd one where we spend the time laughing and sewing and letting our hair down. I was enjoying listening to the chatter of a group of ladies who got together in an organization and then finding a mutual joy of creating and sucking other lost ladies into our web of fabric and thread.
I say lost, as most of the newer crafters have found a passion in creating items and enjoy being together to teach and learn from each other. Those who were creative before have found fun being among others who share their passions.
I looked around the table. I saw 7 people, including myself in that group, and knowing things that are going on in a few of their lives, realized that the smiles and laughter are either a well-deserved break from the things in their normal lives OR devices that are hiding the struggles in order to try to cope.
One of the ladies had a parent who is suffering from a long-term illness that is robbing her of that parent. She is angry, and who would blame her, especially since she feels the parent is not getting proper care and she is powerless to do anything about it.
One of the ladies has an addicted daughter who is fighting those demons (and currently winning) while trying to raise my friend's granddaughter alone.
One of the ladies has a spouse who is facing surgery and perhaps bills from what the insurance does not pay.
One lady is working well past the age when she should be retired and enjoying being free to enjoy life. And the job she has finds her working a graveyard shift and sometimes as many as 12 hours a shift.
One of the ladies has several serious health conditions. She has wonderful insurance but does not always seek the help that this insurance can afford her. She sees it as wasteful, not seeing herself as worthy of such treatment. She also does not want to be taking a great many meds. She takes plenty now and tends to be sensitive to any new medicine that is introduced. So she suffers with pains and hurts which makes her life very difficult.
One of the ladies has moved into a new home, sharing a lot with her son and his wife. There is tension between this wonderful lady and her DIL. Even though they do not share a domicile, their close proximity is not being well received by the DIL, so they are struggling to work things out.
And then there is me! I have decent health, although I am overweight and have already had a knee replaced. I live alone in my home since I lost my husband in 2011. I have just rescued a dog, so I have a new companion, but we are still getting to know one another. There are things I want to do, but find I either cannot do them or am not motivated to do them.
I am trying to make my little home just perfect for me as I age. I have already gotten a comfort height toilet installed so my next knee surgery will be easy to recover from at home. I have started painting my living room/dining room and ran into a wall where water had damaged the plaster years BEFORE I bought the house. I have had friends seal the cinder block chimney with DriLock Paint and then put a cap on top to keep water from coming in. Now no water comes in. I have to seal the fragile plaster and then find a way to cover the wall so I can finish the painting. (There is also another place that has to be fixed on another wall, but that will be for another day!) I got a big generator last winter and I need to get a transfer switch set up and an outdoor plug that will allow me to plug one cord into the outdoor plug, turn off the outside power and use the transfer switch to run my house instead of having miles of extension cords running through the house. My nephew indicated that he might be able to help, but so far it has not worked out. So I either need to know he will help or I will have to find an electrician to do the job and I will pay for it. But this MUST happen before the next winter comes in.
I am also re-purposing the work room in my basement that my late husband used for his wood working. I am farther along than I thought I would be since we did not find mold behind the walls and they were already sealed, but I need to continue cleaning up and getting rid of things. I have to lug trash bags up stairs and put them out in a Bagster bag that is outside. My lawn guy moved the bag last week so he could mow but did not move it back. Where he left it blocked the mail carrier from leaving mail, so I had to lug it back. I have to talk with him this week and either have him mow around it, or not mow that section of the yard until it is gone.
I have realized that over the years, I had been silently encouraged by my husband to do the things that needed to be done. If he was working or putzing around, then I kept busy. If the task really needed two people, we worked together. Now there is no one but me. And there is no one to encourage me. And no one who really cares if I get done what I want to get done.
And when it comes to these trips and things, well, I load the van alone, I have help unloading at the location. I get help loading at the location, but am alone to unload. This is getting old!! It took over a week to get the van unloaded after Fancy Gap.
But, there is only one thing I can do. I can put one foot in front of the other every day. I can only eat one little piece of the elephant in order to get to my goal. I can only do the best I can everyday and hopefully get to the end of what I want to do.
There are many days when I feel so very alone. I stay busy with Lions Club, PABA, church activities, making plans for trips, taking care of Winston (who is acting really oddly this afternoon. He is hiding under the bed and actually seems genuinely frightened. He must be hearing something I cannot hear. I wish I could help him... does anyone have doggie ear plugs??)
So, anyway... looking around, there is not anyone in this life who does not have a trial or tribulation in their lives. How we deal with those roadblocks really determines the thread of our life. I pray that my accomplishments will be adequate to get me to my goals.
With God, all things are possible.... so God help me, I will get this done.
Tuesday, August 12, 2014
Progress with the Elephant
Sometimes you can't see the forest for the trees. Same thing goes when you are eating an elephant. Sometimes you do not appreciate the progress until you really look back at where you started.
Since my son, Rob, is planning to come out in September for a week to help me finish this room, I headed to the basement with my IPad just before I headed to the airport to visit Rob and his wife, Kate, in Alaska. I grabbed a couple of pictures so he could see what the room looked like and what my plans were.
I have posted a couple of pictures of after I had started eating the elephant, so I thought I would show you all what the space looked like in the middle of June.
It is not the best picture... I was in a hurry and the light was not good. I am standing about two-thirds of the way in the room, looking towards the street-side of the house. All of the big tools are in the foreground. You can also see the weight-lifting bench.. The white table is a cutting table that will remain in the room along with the small wood table that is an actual sewing machine table, which will also remain in the room. There is a work bench on the right-side, just out of view and other junk piled after the man came to buy the planes.
Now, the elephant has been nibbled on and this is the result. Danny and Darren had come to remove the tools. Danny's grandson took the weight-bench and weights that you cannot see. Then I was tasked with cleaning the workbench on the far wall... which I did... and then Danny and Darren came back to remove the work bench from the wall and then remove the wallboard so I could see what was behind the wallboard. Since it is a basement, I expected moisture and mold and all kind of nasty stuff. I expected to be spending the next several weeks treating mold and painting the cinder block with DriLock masonry paint.... but there was no moisture, no mold and Rudy had treated the walls before he covered them up.
So I just have to finish going through the remaining stuff on the other workbench and I am ready to put down a floor and bring in the sewing stuff!!! By the time I head to the Outer Banks for the retreat in October I will have a 10 by 30 foot sewing and craft room!! Yippee!!!
I will also have a daybed in the room and a television. This way, I can sleep there when I have extra company or if I just need a nap during the day!
Since my son, Rob, is planning to come out in September for a week to help me finish this room, I headed to the basement with my IPad just before I headed to the airport to visit Rob and his wife, Kate, in Alaska. I grabbed a couple of pictures so he could see what the room looked like and what my plans were.
I have posted a couple of pictures of after I had started eating the elephant, so I thought I would show you all what the space looked like in the middle of June.
It is not the best picture... I was in a hurry and the light was not good. I am standing about two-thirds of the way in the room, looking towards the street-side of the house. All of the big tools are in the foreground. You can also see the weight-lifting bench.. The white table is a cutting table that will remain in the room along with the small wood table that is an actual sewing machine table, which will also remain in the room. There is a work bench on the right-side, just out of view and other junk piled after the man came to buy the planes.
Now, the elephant has been nibbled on and this is the result. Danny and Darren had come to remove the tools. Danny's grandson took the weight-bench and weights that you cannot see. Then I was tasked with cleaning the workbench on the far wall... which I did... and then Danny and Darren came back to remove the work bench from the wall and then remove the wallboard so I could see what was behind the wallboard. Since it is a basement, I expected moisture and mold and all kind of nasty stuff. I expected to be spending the next several weeks treating mold and painting the cinder block with DriLock masonry paint.... but there was no moisture, no mold and Rudy had treated the walls before he covered them up.
So I just have to finish going through the remaining stuff on the other workbench and I am ready to put down a floor and bring in the sewing stuff!!! By the time I head to the Outer Banks for the retreat in October I will have a 10 by 30 foot sewing and craft room!! Yippee!!!
You can see stains where water used to come in, but I took pictures on a day when we had lots of rain and it was dry.
Under the workbench. No mold, no water, and no need to paint.
Removed the unsupported end of the workbench. This is the space where the white cutting table will be found once the wallboard is replaced and painted.
We had a piece of nicer wood that will replace the shelf that was taken out below the bench. It will be a good place for project storage bins.
The brown cabinet was attached to the wall in the upper left-hand side. Rudy had added a shelf inside. It will also go back up for storage of small things. The white cabinet in the wall on the right is a medicine cabinet that Rudy built into the wall. It also will stay and probably house thread, needles, etc. The pegboard will hold rulers and cutters and other items. It is going to be such and awesome room.
I will also have a daybed in the room and a television. This way, I can sleep there when I have extra company or if I just need a nap during the day!
Friday, August 8, 2014
Back to the elephant.....
I have returned to eating my elephant....
Over the last few weeks, Danny Lantz and his son, Darren, have been in my house and clearing out all of the wood working tools from the basement work room where my late husband made cabinet doors for my kitchen, created lovely items for friends and, in the long East Coast winters... built remote control planes that were beautiful to look at and fun to fly. I sold the planes last fall. I have decided, if I am not going to sell this house and move, I need to have a sewing/craft room. So, I cam clearing out this space and re-purposing it for my sewing and quilting and crafting.
There is a workbench all long the back of the room. It is attached to wallboard that lines that end of the room. It is, after 25+ years of being on the wall, showing signs of dampness. It is, after all, a basement! The remainder of the walls have pegboard floor to ceiling. I want to pull the workbench off the wall, cut off the section that is on the right-side and then remove the wallboard and see what the walls show after all of this time. I want to spray with some bleach water to kill any mold that might be there, let it dry well and then paint the cinder blocks with DriLock masonry paint to seal them from any dampness that might be coming in that way. Then replace the walls with more pegboard.
Over the last few weeks, Danny Lantz and his son, Darren, have been in my house and clearing out all of the wood working tools from the basement work room where my late husband made cabinet doors for my kitchen, created lovely items for friends and, in the long East Coast winters... built remote control planes that were beautiful to look at and fun to fly. I sold the planes last fall. I have decided, if I am not going to sell this house and move, I need to have a sewing/craft room. So, I cam clearing out this space and re-purposing it for my sewing and quilting and crafting.
There is a workbench all long the back of the room. It is attached to wallboard that lines that end of the room. It is, after 25+ years of being on the wall, showing signs of dampness. It is, after all, a basement! The remainder of the walls have pegboard floor to ceiling. I want to pull the workbench off the wall, cut off the section that is on the right-side and then remove the wallboard and see what the walls show after all of this time. I want to spray with some bleach water to kill any mold that might be there, let it dry well and then paint the cinder blocks with DriLock masonry paint to seal them from any dampness that might be coming in that way. Then replace the walls with more pegboard.
This is the area as I found it today. This rooms runs the entire length of the width of the house, so it is under my bedroom, the office and the storage room off the outer porch (it had once been a little screened porch, but was closed in during the Both Hands Project). So it is a nice sized room.
This is looking the other way. I took the first picture while sitting on the chair. There is a door to the outside in the far corner, a window that faces the back of the house and two windows on the side. So, there is some natural light. The walls opposite the outside walls are also cinder block but they are interior walls. I want to cover the larger areas with 'design walls' where I can layout quilt blocks to play with designs and colors.
This is the other workbench. This was the area where the planes were built. I am thinking that this bench will have to go. I will put the other bench back up, place the cutting table in the area that we cut off. I will cover it with either a standard counter top or laminate a counter on it, but I want the biggest area I can get for cutting mats. I could leave the plane bench up, but I think I would rather have the room for tables and ironing boards.
I think it will make a nice space. Rob is planning to come sometime in September to help get it finished. I am hoping to have most of the prep work and even some finishing work done before he arrives.
I am looking forward to having a space just for sewing. It will be a first as I always had to set up on dining room tables, both here and in Maryland.
Tuesday, August 5, 2014
Lights and Darks, new store and camels....
Yesterday I had the pleasure of having a guest for the day. In fact, she spent the night, is doing so again tonight then heading home tomorrow. Mary Davis, a dear friend from Indian Acres came up to catch up on things, meet Winston and do a little fabric shopping for the Outer Banks trip.
Mary works in the guard gate at Indian Acres, so she headed up here right after finished her graveyard shift, arriving at 8:15 AM. We had coffee and breakfast cookies before putting Winston in his crate and heading towards Route 340 and the "Lancaster" quilt shops.
First stop, Log Cabin Quilts. It has been remodeled and expanded and this was the first time I had been in it since they completed the project. It was very nice, but I thought they might have been expanding the shop to increase the number of fabrics that they carry, but instead, the expanded area was really more tourist stuff.... completed place mats, quillows, pot holders, table toppers, small quilts, Amish Cookbooks, etc. I can understand why they did it as they are in the middle of Amish tourist country, but I would have preferred more fabric. We each found some things to buy (big surprise).
Next stop was The Quilt Shack. It has a wide range of different fabric as well as a nice bargain room. It also provided us with things to buy. While Mary was in the basement shop (which sells notions) I called a friend from church about a shop that sells beautiful fabric for less. She gave me the name (Cedar Lane Dry Goods) on Orlan Road (204) outside of New Holland and I punched it into the GPS and in a little over 15 minutes, we arrived at a nifty shop located in an industrial mall that I never would have even known was there.
We traveled some back roads from Bird-In-Hand to New Holland. I could have never gotten there without the GPS. As we wove our way past many lovely Amish farms, we came to a place where there was a pickup truck stopped on the road, looking at a horse with a young colt. Not unusual i this area... tourists stop and gawk at cows and pigs and Amish children. But shortly after the pickup truck Mary pointed and exclaimed... "Isn't that a camel?" I tried to stay on the road and look at the same time, slowing down as we continued on our route, but sure enough, there was a camel, keeping cool under a tree. And on closer inspection, there was another one farther off in the field. Camels... in Amish Country. Who would have guessed?
Back to Cedar Lane... It was an interesting shop. There were socks, underwear, buttons, thread and zippers.... books, cards, stationary and various sundries. Then there was fabric. Several large rows of fabric. Quilting fabric (most of it it the $6.50 per yard, Mary found a fabric that she had paid $11.50 a yard for in a 'quilt shop') and a very nice variety of themes and colors. Regular fabric, batiks, polar fleece, pre-quilted, flannel, and flatfold fabrics at $2.79 per yard. They even sold hand made quit tops. Not quilts, but already sewn together pieced quilt tops that one could buy, choose a backing, batting and binding and finish on their own. The first time I have ever seen that. And yes, we found more stuff to buy. I am now well set for projects for the OBX trip.
It was a fun day followed by naps and a lovely meal while watching quilt videos on YouTube before crashing for a good nights sleep.
Mary works in the guard gate at Indian Acres, so she headed up here right after finished her graveyard shift, arriving at 8:15 AM. We had coffee and breakfast cookies before putting Winston in his crate and heading towards Route 340 and the "Lancaster" quilt shops.
First stop, Log Cabin Quilts. It has been remodeled and expanded and this was the first time I had been in it since they completed the project. It was very nice, but I thought they might have been expanding the shop to increase the number of fabrics that they carry, but instead, the expanded area was really more tourist stuff.... completed place mats, quillows, pot holders, table toppers, small quilts, Amish Cookbooks, etc. I can understand why they did it as they are in the middle of Amish tourist country, but I would have preferred more fabric. We each found some things to buy (big surprise).
Next stop was The Quilt Shack. It has a wide range of different fabric as well as a nice bargain room. It also provided us with things to buy. While Mary was in the basement shop (which sells notions) I called a friend from church about a shop that sells beautiful fabric for less. She gave me the name (Cedar Lane Dry Goods) on Orlan Road (204) outside of New Holland and I punched it into the GPS and in a little over 15 minutes, we arrived at a nifty shop located in an industrial mall that I never would have even known was there.
We traveled some back roads from Bird-In-Hand to New Holland. I could have never gotten there without the GPS. As we wove our way past many lovely Amish farms, we came to a place where there was a pickup truck stopped on the road, looking at a horse with a young colt. Not unusual i this area... tourists stop and gawk at cows and pigs and Amish children. But shortly after the pickup truck Mary pointed and exclaimed... "Isn't that a camel?" I tried to stay on the road and look at the same time, slowing down as we continued on our route, but sure enough, there was a camel, keeping cool under a tree. And on closer inspection, there was another one farther off in the field. Camels... in Amish Country. Who would have guessed?
Back to Cedar Lane... It was an interesting shop. There were socks, underwear, buttons, thread and zippers.... books, cards, stationary and various sundries. Then there was fabric. Several large rows of fabric. Quilting fabric (most of it it the $6.50 per yard, Mary found a fabric that she had paid $11.50 a yard for in a 'quilt shop') and a very nice variety of themes and colors. Regular fabric, batiks, polar fleece, pre-quilted, flannel, and flatfold fabrics at $2.79 per yard. They even sold hand made quit tops. Not quilts, but already sewn together pieced quilt tops that one could buy, choose a backing, batting and binding and finish on their own. The first time I have ever seen that. And yes, we found more stuff to buy. I am now well set for projects for the OBX trip.
It was a fun day followed by naps and a lovely meal while watching quilt videos on YouTube before crashing for a good nights sleep.
Sunday, August 3, 2014
A Lovely and Quiet Sunday....
I went to bed last night before 11 PM, not at all my pattern these days. But I was tired, a little sunburned on my forehead as well as my knees and just wanted to lay down. I did turn the TV on and set it up, as I usually do, to be watching NetFlix on my Amazon TV box. I have been watching the old "Emergency" series from the 70's. While a bit campy these days, at the time it was a state of the art emergency medicine series, even though I do not ever think the emergency room doctors also did surgery and I am sure they did not do it (fully clothed in surgical garb while the emergency paramedics watched in their street clothes in the same room) as frequently as Robert Fuller and Bobby Troup did in the series. I usually watch one or more of the episodes and when I feel myself relaxing, I set the TV to turn off automatically and that way, if I drift off, I am not re-wakened by the TV. Last night I set the sleep mode even before the beginning credits had run.
I woke up to the alarm at 7:00 AM and felt wonderful. Winston had spent the night in bed with me so I got him out, fixed his breakfast and then hit the shower. Coffee, some breakfast nibbles and then off to church. It was a special day as a young woman who had returned to Parkesburg after living away for several years was becoming a member of the church.
I got home and let Winston out of his crate and began the work of creating an Excel Spreadsheet for my Lions Club. I can use that to create envelopes and produce letters during my stint as secretary for this next year.
While doing that I watched the NASCAR race from Pocono. My driver, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., won... his third victory this year. Then I got busy and stripped the sheets off my bed and am washing them and my laundry. Mary Davis is supposed to be coming to visit tomorrow, so I do not want to have chores to do.
Even Winston has had a lazy day. I changed the sheet on the couch, too, so he has been stretched out there and is currently under my recliner.
Just got off the phone with my brother. Andy has been a bachelor for the last week plus as his wife is up in Yardley, PA taking care of her mother. Andy retired almost a year ago and I am sure he has found himself so busy that he wonders how he had time to work at all. I am looking forward to visiting him, once our busy, retired lives find the time.
I also spoke to an old friend from Indian Acres. I called M A to see why she was not responding to an email I had sent and re-sent. We caught up on all of the latest gossip, so it made my quiet Sunday even better. I now have her new email address and we will continue to keep in touch.
A day much better than yesterday!
I woke up to the alarm at 7:00 AM and felt wonderful. Winston had spent the night in bed with me so I got him out, fixed his breakfast and then hit the shower. Coffee, some breakfast nibbles and then off to church. It was a special day as a young woman who had returned to Parkesburg after living away for several years was becoming a member of the church.
I got home and let Winston out of his crate and began the work of creating an Excel Spreadsheet for my Lions Club. I can use that to create envelopes and produce letters during my stint as secretary for this next year.
While doing that I watched the NASCAR race from Pocono. My driver, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., won... his third victory this year. Then I got busy and stripped the sheets off my bed and am washing them and my laundry. Mary Davis is supposed to be coming to visit tomorrow, so I do not want to have chores to do.
Even Winston has had a lazy day. I changed the sheet on the couch, too, so he has been stretched out there and is currently under my recliner.
Just got off the phone with my brother. Andy has been a bachelor for the last week plus as his wife is up in Yardley, PA taking care of her mother. Andy retired almost a year ago and I am sure he has found himself so busy that he wonders how he had time to work at all. I am looking forward to visiting him, once our busy, retired lives find the time.
I also spoke to an old friend from Indian Acres. I called M A to see why she was not responding to an email I had sent and re-sent. We caught up on all of the latest gossip, so it made my quiet Sunday even better. I now have her new email address and we will continue to keep in touch.
A day much better than yesterday!
Saturday, August 2, 2014
Frustrations to the Very End
Well, I am guessing we should have looked at all of the clues leading up to today.
Today was the first annual Parkesburg Community Day. It was originally going to be a few fun activities in the afternoon after some races when the bile race that goes around in Chester County did not return to Parkesburg this year. So a group of hardy souls began to plan a replacement event to bring our community together.
I am a Lion and our club had decided that what we would like to try to do is put on a Kidsight screening as our project for the day. It has been a project that has been a constant struggle. Just a couple of weeks ago, the committee had no idea that we were coming even though we had copies of email communications going back to June showing our plans. So a couple of weeks ago I sent an email to a friend who was on the committee telling him our plans and our frustrations. They all responded quickly and we were added to the roster of vendors.
Our plan was to use a Motor Coach of one of our members as the area where the testing would take place. We had trained Lions from the West Chester chapter coming to do the work. All was set.
Monday we had a call from the Motor Coach owner. They had been out in the vehicle last weekend and it broke down. Might not be repaired by today... so we began to look at a Plan B. Calls were made and pleas sent out for another vehicle. None seemed to be coming.
I put together a plan C, a popup canopy, tarp sides, tables and chairs. The lady who had put the original plan together was not too happy, but we at least had a workable plan to be at the event. I dusted off the tables and canopy from the house I sold in Maryland and brought home instead of selling or giving away. The rain that was supposed to be in the area this morning poured overnight and cleared out by morning (the only positive of the day) and I headed off to the park. We were assigned a spot, arranged for the power, got everything set up and the West Chester Lions arrived. That is where the wheels came off the bus!
The poor Lions from West Chester could not get their $10,000 camera/scanner to work. They tried everything but standing on their heads, but it would not scan. We are having to turn children away. PDG Lion Nancy made some calls and headed out to meet some other Lion who had a similar setup to get their equipment. But, alas, the same result. Turns out, our makeshift eye clinic was not dark enough to allow the camera to work. We tried and tried and tried to get it to work, but to no avail. So we through in the towel about 1:30 PM, packed everything up and headed home.
Nancy was very upset. She really wanted this to be a wonderful event for the Lions. And she was upset because I had done so much to make it work. But, it was all that could be done and sometimes things do not work out the way we want.
So I came home. The stuff is still in the van. I will get it out tomorrow or Monday. No hurry. Winston got out of the crate a few hours early, so he was happy. And hopefully we can figure out how to make it work or find another event for next year.
I was excited to see the number of people who came out to support the Community Day. They just kept coming and coming. I will take Winston back into town and we will sit at the church and watch the fireworks at 9:30 PM. I will find out if loud noises really freak him out.... maybe.
Today was the first annual Parkesburg Community Day. It was originally going to be a few fun activities in the afternoon after some races when the bile race that goes around in Chester County did not return to Parkesburg this year. So a group of hardy souls began to plan a replacement event to bring our community together.
I am a Lion and our club had decided that what we would like to try to do is put on a Kidsight screening as our project for the day. It has been a project that has been a constant struggle. Just a couple of weeks ago, the committee had no idea that we were coming even though we had copies of email communications going back to June showing our plans. So a couple of weeks ago I sent an email to a friend who was on the committee telling him our plans and our frustrations. They all responded quickly and we were added to the roster of vendors.
Our plan was to use a Motor Coach of one of our members as the area where the testing would take place. We had trained Lions from the West Chester chapter coming to do the work. All was set.
Monday we had a call from the Motor Coach owner. They had been out in the vehicle last weekend and it broke down. Might not be repaired by today... so we began to look at a Plan B. Calls were made and pleas sent out for another vehicle. None seemed to be coming.
I put together a plan C, a popup canopy, tarp sides, tables and chairs. The lady who had put the original plan together was not too happy, but we at least had a workable plan to be at the event. I dusted off the tables and canopy from the house I sold in Maryland and brought home instead of selling or giving away. The rain that was supposed to be in the area this morning poured overnight and cleared out by morning (the only positive of the day) and I headed off to the park. We were assigned a spot, arranged for the power, got everything set up and the West Chester Lions arrived. That is where the wheels came off the bus!
The poor Lions from West Chester could not get their $10,000 camera/scanner to work. They tried everything but standing on their heads, but it would not scan. We are having to turn children away. PDG Lion Nancy made some calls and headed out to meet some other Lion who had a similar setup to get their equipment. But, alas, the same result. Turns out, our makeshift eye clinic was not dark enough to allow the camera to work. We tried and tried and tried to get it to work, but to no avail. So we through in the towel about 1:30 PM, packed everything up and headed home.
Nancy was very upset. She really wanted this to be a wonderful event for the Lions. And she was upset because I had done so much to make it work. But, it was all that could be done and sometimes things do not work out the way we want.
So I came home. The stuff is still in the van. I will get it out tomorrow or Monday. No hurry. Winston got out of the crate a few hours early, so he was happy. And hopefully we can figure out how to make it work or find another event for next year.
I was excited to see the number of people who came out to support the Community Day. They just kept coming and coming. I will take Winston back into town and we will sit at the church and watch the fireworks at 9:30 PM. I will find out if loud noises really freak him out.... maybe.
Friday, August 1, 2014
Busy, busy day...
Winston has been good today. I have been very busy, so it is a good thing that he decided to be angelic. So far, no wrapping around the post, no new holes and being good (for the most part) inside.
I am preparing for the 1st Annual Community Day in Parkesburg. It started out as a couple of hours in the afternoon and is now a 12+ hour event with all kinds of races from normal running/walking to outhouses, vendors in the park, music all day at the main stage by the 55+ center (I am sure the residents will be thrilled) and later in the two street parties that will run until fireworks in the park.
The Parkesburg Lions Club is taking part in the vendor portion by doing Kidsight free screenings from 11:00 AM to 3:00 PMish. It has been like pulling teeth to get it all set up. We had arranged for a large Motor Coach to serve as a testing center, but on a trip last weekend it broke down and was not able to be repaired for Saturday. We were not able to find another one to use, everyone who owns one was going to be off traveling (imagine that in the middle of summer) so we are going to use canopies, hang tarps as sides to make a dark area for testing and hopefully that will do the trick. The call I got today from the Lion who will be assisting me with all of this is not really sure about canopy setup, but it was the best we could do last minute.
SO I have been gathering together all of the things I have to offer to the event... canopy, tarps, bungees to hang the tarp, tables, chairs, extension cords, etc. And I am also making pennants out of fabric where I have embroidered the Parkesburg Lions Club information so they know who is sponsoring the screening. And we are hoping... fingers crossed.... that the person who operated the machine shows up from West Chester.
So it has been a busy day. Made the time go fast!
I am preparing for the 1st Annual Community Day in Parkesburg. It started out as a couple of hours in the afternoon and is now a 12+ hour event with all kinds of races from normal running/walking to outhouses, vendors in the park, music all day at the main stage by the 55+ center (I am sure the residents will be thrilled) and later in the two street parties that will run until fireworks in the park.
The Parkesburg Lions Club is taking part in the vendor portion by doing Kidsight free screenings from 11:00 AM to 3:00 PMish. It has been like pulling teeth to get it all set up. We had arranged for a large Motor Coach to serve as a testing center, but on a trip last weekend it broke down and was not able to be repaired for Saturday. We were not able to find another one to use, everyone who owns one was going to be off traveling (imagine that in the middle of summer) so we are going to use canopies, hang tarps as sides to make a dark area for testing and hopefully that will do the trick. The call I got today from the Lion who will be assisting me with all of this is not really sure about canopy setup, but it was the best we could do last minute.
SO I have been gathering together all of the things I have to offer to the event... canopy, tarps, bungees to hang the tarp, tables, chairs, extension cords, etc. And I am also making pennants out of fabric where I have embroidered the Parkesburg Lions Club information so they know who is sponsoring the screening. And we are hoping... fingers crossed.... that the person who operated the machine shows up from West Chester.
So it has been a busy day. Made the time go fast!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)