02:49 - 20.05.07
Missing Links
I felt quite off-balance today. My sister and brother-in-law arrived just after lunch. My brother-in-law said he wanted to hang the door for the main bathroom. Remember, I had mentioned in a February posting that the cats had finally knocked the old door completely off its hinges. Since then, each time one wanted to use the facilities one had to lift the door out of the sill, step inside and then replace the door, lifting it into place once more. Not the worst thing in the world, but really inconvenient. Add in that the cats would sometimes want to check out what was going on in there - especially when the shower was running. Meant midway through shampooing one's hair it would become necessary to step out and reposition the door, now laying across the entire room. Bleagh. That said, I didn't think it right to ask family to help, since my guys had promised to fix it for me. Problem is that they are all working such long hours that they don't seem to be able to find the time to do it.
When my brother-in-law visited last week I guess that really bothered him. That said, it is our first long weekend of the summer and my sister's birthday tomorrow as well. They had a lot of other things they could have done instead. I'm not used to anyone helping me out and out of the blue too. I really appreciated their efforts though. My sister had brought her big pruning shears so she could trim some of my big trees for me. She said her all time favorite job had been when she had been a groundskeeper at one of our local golf courses and that she likes to keep those skills honed. She said she had a headache and needed the fresh air as well. Hard to argue, although watching someone else mow my lawn was difficult to do. I did the step and fetch it routine instead, as did my youngest. Clearing away - revealed a gift of a dead mouse from one of the outside cats on the balcony, for instance - and picking up after - all the deadwood from the pruning, going for supplies and looking for the bits of hardware that have been tucked away since I bought the replacement door a couple of years ago - just before the last federal election that is. As you may recall, dear diary, the entire contents of my home has been shifted a couple of times since then and some of the material was difficult to locate.
It was a blustery day to start, but the sun came out and warmed the house thoroughly. My youngest shut the cats up in separate rooms so that we could open all the doors and windows to induce a cooling breeze through the house. Ms Wildfire managed to slip out of her enclosure and was thoroughly frightened by all that potential open space. She streaked off under my bed, hiding for long after my sister and her hubby had gone home. My youngest picked some quack grass as a delicacy to soothe the cats feelings for disrupting their home again. They liked that even more than the dandelions given to them a week ago. All five of them clustered around the vase nibbling delicately, but greedily at the same time. Doesn't take much to please them. My brother-in-law said the same about me as I played "open" and "close" the bathroom door quite happily once he had worked his magic. Seems a real treat after a few of months of having to weight lift the old door each time. Much quicker and more precise. One of those "you don't appreciate something til it's gone" revelations, I guess. We all chatted a bit about how to proceed with the rest of the renovations. As I've noted before, just having all the old damaged materials stripped out will make me happy. The kitchen and the basement are in dreadful shape after being untouched for nearly thirty years. Less is best, because then I don't have to try cleaning things that just don't clean up nice anymore. I explained to my sister that in some ways I see the problem as a blessing, because now I can redesign and reconfigure my home the way I want it to be inside and out. I don't expect my extended family to help with any of that, but my sister and brother-in-law seem to really want to do some of the work. I am incredibly grateful, but it makes me feel very unbalanced. I'm used to being very independent and doing everything myself. I'm not certain how to respond to such kindness. "Thank yous" hardly seem enough.
After they left for the day, I put supper on and then sat down to read the newspaper. I wanted to sift through more posted job ads so I could continue applying for work after supper. Have to be earning money if I want to buy the replacement drywall and insulation, don't you know. Funny how one's purchasing priorities change over the course of one's life isn't it? Who'd a thunk that a trip to the hardware store could seem exciting? Years ago clothes, books and music were my big treats, now it's masonry screws. Hmmmm. Anyway when I opened the careers section in the one newspaper, the first ad that hit my eye was for a Federal Returning Officer. Remember I also mentioned that one of the new Returning Officers hired to replace one of the other "vacant" electoral districts had called back in March all incensed by the way the local representative was interfering with her ability to do her work - obstructing her in reality. She had been clear that she was going to quit - once she was paid for all the time she had invested already, that is. You've heard me hold forth on that particular problem for five years now, so I won't trouble you with the details again. She had taken the position, not because she needed the money, but because the volunteer drama group she was with needed some really basic furnishings for their theater. What a wonderful contribution to the community that would have been. Turns out that even that goal wasn't strong enough for her to tolerate the abuse she was taking and I can't blame her for stepping down. She might find that bake and art sales are less work to raise the funds - I know I did when that was one of my volunteer fundtions. Maybe I'll call her and offer to help if she decides on an alternate plan. We'll see.
Anyway time for a nap. My youngest has to work tomorrow, so I thought that I would tackle his room now that the main bathroom is dealt with. It's doubled as storage space you see, but now I have some other free space to use instead. As I've mentioned before, each task is lock-stepped with the one before it and I had to wait for the one issue to be dealt with before I could proceed to the next. Pretty sad when cleaning one's (adult)child's room is exciting, but that's the way it is at the moment. Good night dear diary.
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