Unbuttoned :(

Yay! I made button.
Boo! I am failing at creating a "grab box".

But. By all that is techy...
I. Will. Figure. This. Out.

Someday, sigh.

Edit:

I. Dood. It. YAY!!!

Plumb Undone

Hubby dear decided it is time to "fix" the plumbing in this old house. The pipes are old. They have been added to multiple times. The water pressure sucks. And there are pipes going nowhere. 
There are pipes going in circles. Almost. 

I asked him, "Are you sure you want to do this?"
I said, "We can get a plumber."

Him. "We don't need a plumber. I can do this. Nothing to it"

Yeah, right. 

He spent all day in the basement. 
I came home from work and headed upstairs to work on my own project. As far from the basement as I could get. 

I try very hard to not get involved with his DIY projects. They are recipes for 10 kinds of hell. 
I cannot hold a flashlight where it works for him. Have you ever tried to aim a light for not your own eyes?  
I cannot tell him what diameter a pipe is just by looking at it. 
I cannot find the tool he just had. 
I cannot read his mind. 

So. I'm upstairs. 
After 4 hours, I have done all I can on my project. Which, by the way, does not entail shutting off utilities. 

He has been "fixing" the plumbing for 8 hours. 
He is not winning. 
Foolishly, I ask how it's going. 
"If you want to know, come down and watch me!"
This was not a polite invitation. 
This was a statement that I wasn't being very helpful. 
I try to be helpful. 
"How about taking a break and I'll fix dinner"
Sneer, "I'm not eating dinner with sewer hands. I have to get the water on to wash my hands. That plate is not for me. I have sewer water on my hands"
There were other words I chose not to type. 

I'm starting to become annoyed. I prefer to be able to flush the toilet after use. 
And the dog's water bowl is empty. The dog keeps looking at me. Damn. 

Eureka!

I approach the DIYer. "The water is warm enough now, you can wash and eat. Then tackle the pipes after a break."

"Where'd you get water?", suspicion that I'd gone into the basement and was flooding it. 

"Outside."
"What?"
"Snow."

Yes, 4 inches of fluffy water. Pop it in a pan. Turn on the flame, poof!  Warm, handwashing water. 

After eating dinner with clean hands, his brain began to function again. 
"I can replace this join with a shut off and we can have water in the upstairs bathroom. And at least cold water downstairs. Then I can start tomorrow to get the rest done." he's all smiley and smart now. 

Tomorrow I have to work later. 

I hope it's later enough. 

Frozen in Time

This was written for The Red Dress Club ,the prompt was write a piece - 600 word limit - about finding a forgotten item of clothing in the back of a drawer or closet. Let us know how the item was found, what it is, and why it's so meaningful to you or your character.

In the back of the closet. Covered by a dry cleaner's bag. My father's Navy pea coat.

I found it as I was emptying the two rooms my husband and I were getting ready to paint and clean up. One room was mine as a teenager. The other had been my parent's room. After we all moved away, it was Daddy's room until his death in 2004.

Daddy was in the Navy in 1951.  He was discharged in 1952 at the request of his father. Daddy's mother passed away on February 20th, 1952.  She died of cancer.  I wasn't born until 1956. I never knew her. And now I live in the house she had moved to just three years before her death.

My grandparents moved a lot. Living in Ohio, Chicago, Buffalo, somewhere in California. And places between.  I had the feeling there were a lot of rented rooms during that time. My father was in high school when they bought this house.  She had her own home for three years.

Daddy's pea coat is still here. Because the death of his mother stopped time in this house. And even though Daddy brought his wife and infant daughter to live here in 1956, and had four more children, some things never changed. The steamer trunks full of his mother's clothes, letters and trinkets. The box grater and flour sifter in the kitchen. The pretty glass pieces in the built in china cabinet.

They are all still here. Like Daddy's pea coat.  Sixty years. Locked in time.

Waiting to be rediscovered. And released.

What Should I Do?

It's Wednesday.
It's my first whole day off since my granddaughter was born. Since my daughter and I are partners in our restaurant. She's back to work now.
I've spent 2 hours stalking twitter and reading random blogs.
I'm still in pajamas.
I have coffee.

All is well in my world.

There are lots of things I could do. Lots of things I should do.
But?
I'm only going to do things I feel like doing.
And that's not much.
Because.
It's MY day off.
And if the husband wants Pepsi? I'll be glad to give directions to the gas station/convenience store at the corner.
I may make dinner just so I can eat. Maybe.
I may find some boots. Just so I can walk around my snow covered gardens. Just in case there's some green hiding out. But I'll still be in pajamas.
If the neighbors don't approve? Don't look.
It's MY day off.

I may play games on my iPod.
All. Day. Long.

Because. IT'S MY DAY OFF!!

The Most Useless Post Ever

It's been a long week.

Work was not a fun place this week.  Had to "break up" with a long time employee.  That was one of the hardest things I've had to do.
Home was a little better.  Hubby dear has suddenly become the happy house husband.  Which is awesome!  I've been working a lot more hours lately, so it's great to come home to no housework.  He is retired, so it's okay.
While paying my water bill this month, I got to talk to a human!  And was told my bill was way higher than it should be and there must be a leak.  I explained we'd just repaired a running toilet.  She said, NO.  Bigger than that.  Oh no. 
We checked everywhere for water. Nothing.
Friday, I came home to a mess in the kitchen.  Hubby dear had torn the bottom out of the kitchen sink cabinet.  Wow.  It goes directly to a crawl space under there.  There was copper pipe.  Coming from the ground.  Going?  Nowhere, it was capped off.  And leaking like an artisan spring.  Wonderful.
It was a line, that 50 years ago, was hooked to a washer that was on the long gone back porch.  Really?  When that remodel was done in the '70's, we couldn't have taken care of that?
Evidently not.
However, through the purest form of dumb luck, we found line in the basement that was feeding it.  It is not feeding any more.  Fixed.  YAY!

Also this week, on a kinda positive note, I made my first clumsy attempt at fiction at the The Red Dress Club with this post Whispers .  I make no promise of quality.

Now I'm just working on relaxing.  I know there's some wine here.  Somewhere.

Ages of Discovery

My daughter came back to work Friday. So I got to babysit/visit with the grandkids. 
The grandson is a little over 2 now. Very independent, very busy, busy, busy. He'll find anything that will roll (pencils, tape rolls, batteries, cars) and take them to the doorway between the living room and dining room. There is a small slope in the floor there. He will roll whichever treasure he's found down the hill. Then come jump in either Gramma or Grampa's lap, sit a minute then go stand in front of the TV and "play" with Dora or Diego. And then off to find something else. 

The granddaughter is 2 months. She smiles and laughs. (and poops) She wants more holding than her brother did.   So different already.  This is the first time I've watched her. But she wasn't disturbed by being in this strange place with these people she hadn't spent any time with. 

The grandson isn't really interested in his baby sister much at this point. But I noticed when she can see him?  She is enchanted. She will look only at him as long as he's in view.  

I'll be babysitting weekly now. I look forward to spending time with them. The grandson at that fun discovery age   The granddaughter at that fun new thing everyday age.  Cause I'm at that now I feel like I have more time and patience age.