Chim-chimney

How often do you look at your roof? I can say that my roof, being way up there, doesn't get much of my attention. But earlier this summer, while lounging in the backyard my eyes traveled up to that big plain and found this..

Oh My! Now I'm not a masonry expert, but I was pretty sure that wasn't what chimneys look like. Here's another view. Can you see the brick in the gutter? In this shot it just looks like another leaf, but believe me it's a brick. On the roof.

Thus began my education into chimneys. I heard a lot of this: "Oh no, we don't do rebuilds. Used to. Don't anymore." The guys that did come out would give a whistle about the steepness of my roof and quote off some ridiculously high estimate. Not good. But then we found a guy not afraid of the roof, who seemed to know what he was doing and was reasonably priced. Here's he is (or maybe one of his crew) up there working hard yesterday.

There's guys were really terrific. They tore down the old chimney, built a new one, swept out the chimney and then put a liner down it to prevent this from happening again for a long time. They were done and gone in five hours. My only complaint was that not once during the afternoon did the crew burst into song and dance up there with brushes in their hands and sooty faces. A tad bit disappointing I must say.

One thing was for sure, it was a crazy noisy project. Marco stayed outside and kept on eye on the whole operation. The chimney guy was worried that all the noise would make him a nervous wreck. But during the noisiest part of the day, the part where my old chimney was being dropped brick by brick into the back of their truck, I went to check on the dog. Passed out cold on the back porch! What a guy! The cats on the other hand were basket cases. Poor Jack had the worst time. After it was all over we went searching for the cats. We found the girls quick enough, but not Jack. We searched and searched in all his usual haunts and then in just any place we could think he might have jammed himself. Eventually he came out on his own and we all so relieved to see him we dove after him. That sent him scurrying away faster than I've ever seen him move. We found him again squeezed behind all the board games in the basement. We coaxed him out, but he was still skittish for the rest of the night, jumping a mile at any little noise. Poor, poor little guy!

Anyway here's the new chimney with its shiny little hat. Now, we should probably do something about those gutters..

Bonfire Night

Here's the boy, the girl and "that other girl who's always around" at the big annual bonfire last night. This is as as close to the fire as they could stand, but still it was super hot. Every other year it's been nice and cool for this event, but this October it has been unseasonably and uncomfortably warm. The mosquitoes were awful and everyone was just reeking of bug spray.

But despite that, it was an excellent time. There was a ton of food and we all ate until we regretted. The kids took walkie-talkies and ran around in the dark woods searching for each other. They said the walkie-talkies made the whole night for them. And they were my idea, thank you very much! A big thanks to the Bartlebaughs for another memorable night!

Lessons with Zombies

Today was my first day back to work! I've officially been on "green" to go back to work since last Monday, but I just haven't gotten any calls. In desperation, I emailed my boss last night and begged for work. And it worked. Not that I really love my job, barely even like it, but staying home alone with just my thoughts and these animals is starting to damage me mentally.



This year I will be referring to my students as zombies. When when I say zombies, I don't mean these kind of zombies....



No, no, not the shuffling moaning type. I mean more like the "28 Days Later" type of zombie. These guys...
Zombies who are super crazy, run inhumanly fast and never, ever tire out. The extra scary type of zombie.

The parallels between fast scary zombies and schoolchildren and pretty amazing:

• They both can run really fast. And the kids can run their mouths even faster.
• They both often have something unidentifiable and disgusting on their faces and hands.
• Neither children nor zombies are very picky about what they eat or where it was just before they ate it.
• You can't ignore a zombie when it's in the room. Same with kids.
• Neither group knows how to speak a distinct language; it's mostly mumblings, whining and drool.
• They are both predictable only in the fact that you never know what they are going to do next, but it's a guarantee that you're not going to like it.
• They never quit or tire out.

I think I've made my point. My zombies today were of a very little version, kindergarten sized. Still they were full-fledged zombies. I only had the half a day which was a quarter of a day too long!

Orderly Ringing Out

My grandmother has been cleaning out her attic and giving me bits and pieces to sell for her on Ebay. Being laid up here, the timing was good for all this, so I took on the challenge. One of things she gave me was a big shoebox full of stamps that she bought off some friend years and years ago and they originally belonged to that friend's brother. Anyway, she bought the box, stuck it in the attic where it's sat for who knows how long and now it's here. It's a mess, truly. I don't even know where to begin. Most all of the stamps attached to a little corner of the envelope they rode on and cancelled. They are from all over the world. They look pretty old. And that's as far as I've gotten with them. Whenever I think I'll go through them, the task overwhelms me and I quit before I begin.

But one slip of paper in the box was really neat. It was a quarter sheet of paper that The Man found mixed in with everything else. This brother, the collector of all these stamps, must have worked in a plant near the end of WWII and received this notice. I like to imagine the kind of person who wrote this a meticulous person who liked all the i's dotted and t's crossed. I've typed it out in it's entirely. We've been watching a lot of that new Ken Burns movie, so the timing on this pretty good. Enjoy.

It must be evident to all of us that sometime in the near future the word will come that European hostilities have ceased.

The news may come at any time, day or night and to save confusion it seems logical to advise what action we will take regarding plant operations.

When the news is received, whether by day or night, it will be signaled to our employees by the code for "V" - Victory. The whistle or other signaling device designation starting and stopping time will sound three blasts of one minute each with a fifteen-second interval between each blast, followed by a long blast of five minutes.

Operations will be suspended and employees , other than those needed for plant protection and shutting down furnaces or other activities involved in suspending operations, will be released until the beginning of the first shift on the second day (not including Sunday) following V-Day. For example-

If word should come at any time between 12:01 a.m. and 12:00 midnight on Tuesday, we would resume operations on Thursday a the beginning of the day shift.
If word were received at any time Friday, the plant would resume work Monday a the beginning of the day shift.

If the word were received on Saturday, the plant would resume work Tuesday a the beginning of the day shift.

We trust that, regardless of the excitement that will naturally be universal, orderly ringing out and departure will be maintained.

What a different war this was. Every aspect of everyone's lives was wrapped up in the war; how you shopped, where you went and how you worked. No one ever forgot for one moment during their day to day lives that there was a war going and our boys were dying over there. Our nation was at war and every member of our nation was an active part of the effort. How very, very different from our war today...

Paging Mother Nature

Check out the monstrosity that was left on my doorstep.

This ugly thing is almost three inches thick and WE'RE NOT EVEN IN IT! It's the Cleveland Area phone book! Why, oh why would I need to have this in my house? If I desperately needed a number in Cleveland I would call Directory Assistance or look it up on-line. This phone book offends me in some many ways!

We get about four phone books a year, which is way too many, but this is the first time we've gotten the Cleveland one. Who decided that we needed this? The amount of paper in it fills me with horror. Everyone in town got one of these? Can you even fathom how many trees were killed to make these complete useless books? Never mind that I've gotten along fine my whole life without ever needing one of these numbers, but where in the hell do they expect people to store something like this. It's deeper than most every drawer we own and shelf space is at a premium around here. I can't imagine that anyone is going to keep this phone book longer than a week. The sad part is most of them will end up in the trash, in a land fill. Mine is lucky enough to be heading straight to the paper recycling bin. Hopefully in it's next incarnation it will come back as something more useful. Like toilet paper.

Friends Indeed

This one is for Weaver who knows what it's like to be a mom in a yucky situation and doesn't mind lending a helping hand. Circa 1994, here's Brewer, Weaver and Brookie all jammed on our tiny love seat.

And true to her nature, here's Stella joining them because nobody was allowed to have fun without her being right in the middle. In this case she got right on top!

I wish the lighting was a little better, but you can get the gist of the situation! Thanks so much you guys! I owe you big!

Fundraising Hell

Nance once told me that all my problems were a direct result of allowing my children to be involved in things. You were right! You were right!

We are currently hip-deep in order forms for three separate fundraisers all happening right now. We have the Girl Scout Nut Sale which this year has made the jump to include magazines. (Anyone need a renewal?) Then there's the Boy Scout Popcorn sale which is just always such an easy sell. (That should be dripping with excessive sarcasm.) The only good thing going for popcorn this year is that they brought back the tin of un-popped corn and added a straight up $25 donation option for those who want to support Scouts but hate popcorn. Finally, the music department at school is having a sale of boxed chocolates, snacks and strangely enough, kitchen gadgets. Oh and did I mention that both the girl and boy are a part of this one, so it's actually like we have four fundraisers going on. It's too much! TOO MUCH!

Jumping for Joy

Good news from Dr. Feet today! While the bone is not 100% healed, x-rays show that the break is well aligned and I am officially off crutches!

No more crutches!

No more crutches!

I am still stuck in the hideous boot for another two weeks, but that's nothing, no big deal at all. And now I can drive! Next week I'm going to start back to work but just for half-days. It's a long day on your feet subbing and I don't want to mess things up by going too fast now. I'm also going to pass on jobs in those buildings with stairs probably for another month just to be on the safe side. Can you tell that I'm happy about all of this? This painting just about sums up how I feel!!!

Singing River Weekend

Our weekend out to Singing River was a big success. The weather was a little cool, but it stayed sunny all day and crazy starry at night. We had 12 girls out with us this time. Our afternoon lunch down by the river was every one's favorite part without a doubt. The girls built a fire and cooked out hot dogs and marshmallows for s'mores on the beach. Then after lunch...well...you can see where the girls ended up! Only a few fell in but they all had a big wet time finding clam shells and sinking ankle-deep into the clay on the opposite bank. It's been fairly dry, so the river was very low and slow, perfect for kicking around in. And going into the river wasn't an unplanned thing; these girls brought towels, extra clothes and shoes just for this! And yes, Weaver, they went up to Olive's Grave, but not at midnight, sorry to say. My foot and I had to stay behind for most of the hiking, which didn't make me, my darling co-leader or my girls very happy. But there's always next time!

Puppy Love

Since I am actually out of anything to say here's some cute pictures of Marco for a change, instead of cats.

Marco at 10 weeks old. Look at that belly!

Marco 10 minutes ago, sleeping under the same curtain. He might be a little bit bigger and three years older, but he's still just a puppy.

And this isn't easy to see, but that's Mamacat and Marco sharing a nap in the same patch of sunshine, but just barely. This is as close to friendly as I've ever seen them.

The foot is feeling good. The girl and I are going camping tomorrow out to Singing River. I'm planning on doing lots of sitting and having girls fetch everything for me! Hurray for camping on crutches!

Put one foot in front of the other....

The news from Dr. Feet yesterday was pretty good. While I am still to stay off my foot as much as possible, I am now allowed from time to time to put some weight on my heel. I can also try practicing with only one crutch, which so far had gone terribly, but I won't give up. He said to gradually start using my boo-boo foot more and more, up to tolerance. No problem! But I'm not going to rush this. Technically, I still have another two full weeks off my feet. The last thing I want to do is get too hasty, hurt myself and have to start all over. So I'm sticking with the crutches, but I think I'll do a lot less crawling. Just being able to put my foot down for balance is such a relief!

The days are long around here with the kids gone to school, but I'm finding ways to keep busy still. I sit here at the computer a lot! Thanks to the Weaver, I have a bunch of new blogs to read all of which have been fantastic. And of course, there's always Marco and the cats to keep me entertained.

Marco: "Are we going for a walk yet?!?!?"

Jack: " Please construct a model of me out of Legos next."

Meg: "Did I just hear a chipmunk in the basement?"

Mamacat: "No way you're taking my picture."

Tick Tick Tick

I haven't taken a shower in three weeks.

I haven't been to a store in three weeks.

I have not done one load of laundry (or even been in the basement) in three weeks.

I haven't driven a car, cleaned out a cat box, mowed the lawn, taken out the trash, danced, skipped, ran, tiptoed or even wore matching shoes.

But I have cleaned out many cupboards and drawers. I've spent way too much time at the computer reading other people's blogs. I've watched a lot of movies and TV. And I've been extremely well taken care of by the most wonderful family a girl with a bad wheel could hope for.

Did you guess that today is the three week anniversary of "The little slip that turned into a big thing"? Potentially today is the halfway point of my recovery, but I've got my fingers crossed for an early release from the world of crutches and crawling. I feel really good and my toes are almost back to a normal color, no more zombie feet. I have a huge list of things I could (and some of them should) be doing. So far the list has only resulted in making me feel guilty, so I've misplaced it and it's very difficult for me to search for something, so that's that!

Is this thing cute or what? A turtle timer! It's exactly how I feel!

First Day of Junior High

Off to Junior High go the boy and girl! Big time 7th graders! School now starts at a blurry 7:25 AM, which means we have to get up at around 6:30! Not cool! The sleep loving Andersons are really going to struggle with this early time. The man had NOTHING nice to say about it this morning!

They came home all smiles and very excited. I hope that they have lots of positive experiences in junior high. The strange thing for them will be that they are in every class all day together, except gym. Getting sick of each other is a distinct possibility.

I'm one of the few people I know who can say this, but I loved Junior High. Elementary school was a daily horror for me and Junior High was a chance to be someone new. I didn't realize I was miserable at the time in elementary. It wasn't until I started meeting new people that I finally felt myself relax. My grades improved and so did how I felt about myself. And fewer and fewer people called me by the loathed nickname that tormented both myself and my sweet sister. ( I know you're shivering to yourself right now just thinking of it, H.) The gist of it is, there's something to be said about meeting people who haven't known you since kindergarten. I found it very liberating. And these new people, in Junior High, didn't threaten to beat you up for looking at them the wrong way or accidentally bumping into them! What a novelty!

And Junior High is just big enough that all those old "pals" were easy to avoid. I saw less and less of them, until by High School, there were barely any left at all. Who knows where they all went; just blew away I guess. Well, not all of them. Just before the YMCA closed I saw Angela H., who was one of those K - 6ers' back at the old stomping ground. I hadn't said a word to this woman since probably the last day of sixth grade. I can't recall ever seeing her after, but I guess she was around. (I looked her up in my yearbook and we graduated together. What d'ya know!) She recognized me right off. (Damn this youthful look of mine!) I didn't know who she was until she introduced herself. We had a very nice chat-- and then she called me that name. I think I actually saw red. I don't know, it's all a blur. I don't know what I said, I hope it was something polite, but I know that I cut out of there quick. Sometimes the past REALLY needs to stay the past!

Still no dancing...or anything

Dr. Feet says I'm still off mine for another two weeks minimum, four more most likely. And yes, I want the bone to set correctly so I will be a very good girl and stick with the crutches and the crawling. But damn, this is the most bummed out I think I've ever felt! Send more happy thoughts! This girl is going stir crazy!

The cats had their one year birthday on Sunday. One year of these little furballs in our lives and honestly, I'm so happy with them. All three of them are so different and funny. I love watching them run around with each other and watching them interact with Marco is gold. He's been the best about them being here.

It's hot and it's sticky and the neighbors seem to be having issues with their pool, which is making my kids have issues. Nothing cools tempers like a dip in the pool around here. Ah well, there's always spraying each other with the hose. No wait a minute, that makes people mad too. Oh no! We're screwed!

History with Legos

It's time for a little history. The girl and I recently caught the last fifteen minutes of a show about the ancient wonders of the world. We saw the part about the Temple of Zeus in Olympia. If you want to know all about it, here's a very easy to read description.

Being instantly inspired, we bring you this:

The Saga of the Poor Greek Peasant

"Ah me! I have no livestock. My crops are dead. I am alone in this miserable little hovel. My existence is empty and void of meaning."

In an attempt to bring a change to his stagnant existence, our hero decides to make a pilgrimage to the newly constructed temple to Zeus built in Olympia. Perhaps there he will receive the god's blessing and his life will become whole. So off he sets, over mountains, across rivers and deserts and through creepy forests and swamps. Luckily, the whole way was well marked.

"That must be the Temple up ahead there. Boy, that is a whopper! Where did they get all that marble anyway? Zeus must be very pleased with such a monument to his glory. I hope there's no admission price..."

"Look a the size of this door! My hovel could fit in it three times!"

"Whoa! Look how big he is! ZEUS! You are indeed mighty. I have traveled a long and hard way to pay tribute to your greatness. Pity me, my Lord! I am put your poorest hovel dwelling servant!"

Our hero lowers himself beside the reflecting pool with Zeus looking down upon him. And as he prays, he feels a lifting of his spirit as if all his troubles were sliding off his shoulders.

The poor Greek peasant, overwhelmed with emotion, throws himself into the reflecting pool and begins to thrash about wailing and sobbing. He's never been so happy.

"Excuse me sir. Temple Security here. We're going to have to ask you to please get out of the holy pool and exit the temple immediately."

Feeling renewed, like his life once again has purpose, our hero marches home, ready to devote himself to Zeus and becoming a better peasant. Unbeknownst to him, there is a surprise waiting at home...

"But...but...What is this?!?!? My fields are green? Where did all these animals come from? And who is THAT? Oh, Zeus! Have I been rewarded for my toils? I am not worthy!"

"Wow! And she's a babe, too! Thank You, Zeus!"

So that's our story. Here's a few more shots of the temple, without our hero. I would like to say that we left the one side open on purpose, so you could see inside, but the truth is we just plain ran out of white Legos. None of the websites mention this, but on the show said that they now believe there was a shallow pool of water in front of Zeus to catch his reflection. We added that detail to ours as well. We hope you enjoyed your history lesson!

All the Gnus

The trip to Dr. Feet today didn't go exactly as I hoped. My hope was this:

"What a miracle! Throw those crutches away and let's go dancing!"

Instead, I got my cast removed, but only on the promise that I would put no weight whatsoever on my foot. Now I'm wrapped up just in the Ace Bandage and still wearing the hideous boot. I am threatened with the immediate replacement of the cast if anything goes wonky in the next week. So because I want this to be over in the minimum amount of time, I will continue with the bruising crutches and let my poor injured limb float along.

My foot is a terrifying sight to behold. My mom asked if it was black and blue just now on the phone. I wish. It's more like green and yellow. The man called it a zombie foot, it's that repulsive. But Dr. Feet is pleased, so I am too. I see him a week from today. I'm hoping the good news train just keeps chugging along.

No time to say goodbye

I've been watching a little TV lately. Okay, a lot of TV. Much more than I'm used to. Shows, movies and lots of commercials. And here's the thing I've noticed: Nobody says goodbye to the person they are talking to on the phone when the conversation is over, especially if they are talking on a cell phone. It doesn't seem to matter if it's an argument or casual chit-chat. One of the parties decides that the conversation has come to an end and flips their phone shut. No "Goodbye" or "See Ya" or "Later!" and definitely never "I love you." Just a snap shut and on they go on with their business, probably involving calling someone else right away. Does the person on the other end keep talking for moment or two? Do they, once they figure out that their friend is gone, just assume with a chuckle that the call was dropped? Maybe they wait a few moments staring at their phone, wondering if they should call back.


In the real world, this is caledl "hanging up on someone" and is considered extremely rude. You hang up on people who have made you so angry or upset that you can't imagine saying another word. You hang up on phone solicitors. You hang up on heavy breathers and kids who ask you if your refrigerator is running. But for the most part, in a civilized world, a simple goodbye is the proper way to end a phone conversation.


I must have missed something along the way. Because it is a rarity to see anyone give any kind of farewell on the phone in TV or movies. The closest you get is "Okay". That seems to be the new "Bye".



A phone chirps some annoying ditty...


"Yo!"


"Hey, if you're coming over bring that box of stuff we talked about before from that place."


" 'K!"


Both parties slap their phones shut with a flip of the wrist.


Maybe the media doesn't want to waste our precious viewing time with antiquated niceties. You can get a lot more story in if you cut out manners. "Please?" Please! "Thank You?" Umm... no thank you! "Excuse Me? Pardon Me? I'm sorry?" Boring!!!


I started noticing this because we were watching "Big Love" and there was this new supremely creepy character that did the most interesting phone sign-off. He got off the phone like he was signing a letter-- "Most Sincerely Yours Hollis Greene". He said that. Not once, but a few times during the episode and every time you sort of squirmed because it was so strange and yet so very polite as well.


It's possible that I'm being over-sensitive here. I am in fragile state and getting cabin fever to boot. Boot! Get it! That's a joke son! Broken foot humor, that is! I keep pitching 'em and you keep missing 'em!

And this little piggy stayed home....

The trip to the podiatrist today went much better. This girl has finally received quality medical attention. Dr. Feet (not his name, of course!) said that I don't have a true Jones Fracture, but some close cousin that's not as big a deal. Still it's a broken bone. I saw the x-rays today. No doubt on that. But it probably won't need surgery to put back to right.

Now I'm in a what is called a soft cast, surrounded by layers and layers of wrapping topped by a big heavy, ugly boot. But all of this has made me feel better; the consistent aching has subsided. I have to wear all this and not get it wet and never put it on the floor until Tuesday when I might-- JUST MIGHT get to start putting weight on it. That means walking without crutches! HURRAY! The bruises on the insides of my arms are just the start of what they'll probably look like by then. Not pretty.

I officially bowed out of being in the play. There's just no way I can do it. It wipes me out just going from the kitchen to the couch. My director was really understanding and cool about it. Maybe next time...

Thanks for all the notes of sympathy. Go ahead and send some words of encouragement to the man and the kids. They're really doing a great job around here taking of things, and me!