Locked doors, geckos and a near encouter with a Famous Person

I used to think I was a pretty smart person.  Then we moved.
The new house has doors that stay locked unless you flip a little lever.  I don't seem to remember this.  Locked myself out of the garage once, but the car was open so I used the garage door opener.  Locked myself out of the house a second time, but Jackie quickly answered the door.
So it was with frosted bated (baited?  never could figure that out) breath that I closed the front door just as she was getting in the shower.
I could not get back in.  Front door locked, car locked, garage door locked.  And me with no key (or clue).  I was in a shirt and it was cold.  Very cold.  I rang the bell.  No answer.  I knew she would be in the shower for at least 10 minutes, if not longer.  Then the hair dryer would go on and she still wouldn't hear me.
So I broke into my own house.
I knew a basement window was unlocked.  I walked around the house, pushed the window up, climbed down through the bottom half of the window and made my way upstairs.
I can't do that anymore, since one of the guys came out and adjusted the window so it locks.
Guess I'll have to go to Moore's and buy a fake rock to hide a spare key.
I did that at the Skare Court house.  I actually put a key in a pill bottle and buried it in the dirt in the breezeway.  When the day finally came when I was locked out, I dug all over and never found the damn thing.
Today at the zoo I took out Uno, a leopard gecko, for kids and guests to look at and gently pet.  I had the little fellow out for about 15 minutes.  Now I have taken geckos out before, but what Uno did was a first for me.
His little body suddenly tensed up.  His breathing accelerated and his tail began twitching up and down rapidly.  He looked like he was about ready to leap off of my hand.
Then he pooped.
Gecko poop is about three quarters of an inch long and the diameter of a large pipe cleaner.  It smells.  Really.  Old Uno let loose with a righteous one!  When I have guinea pigs out I always keep them on a towel for that very purpose.  But a gecko?
I washed my hands for 10 minutes, and used a hand sanitizer.  Can you say salmonella????
Seeing as I was near Oak Brook, I stopped to buy a new pair of shoes. Why?  Well, Cooper the great dane ate one of my everyday shoes, leaving me with one shoe and two feet.
I have been buying a brand named Ecco for the past six years.  They are the most comfortable shoes I have ever worn.
All of this has nothing to do with the story.  Just sayin'.
So I am walking through Oak Brook and pass a store called Pandora.  There is a huge line in front, with three security guards.  There must have been 100 people waiting to get into the store.  I kept walking and ran (literally...his star damn nearly poked out my eye) into another officer and asked him what time the sale started and it must be a good one to draw such a crowd.
Turns out it was a person in the store drawing the crowd.
One gold medal gymnast named Aly Raisman, who was signing autographs and posing for pictures with people because she is now the "face" of Pandora jewelry.
So I turned around and went back to the store, put my nose against the glass, and gawked.  (The French call it window licking.... not window shopping.  I may have been licking.)
She's a tiny thing, and very pretty.  And very young.
She smiled at me.  Or at the person standing in front of her, but I really think it was me.
So I went home with my new shoes, my gecko poop trauma, and my new almost met a famous person experience.
And the best part?
I wasn't locked out.

I still don't get it.

Whew!!  I am tired!!  I have spent part of the day putting away boxes of stuff.  I did find some interesting items:
I have a box of vacuum clean bags and belts.  Bags for Hoover, Eureka, maybe another one or two.  Trouble is, we have a bagless vacuum!!  Now I moved these bags from our house, to the townhouse, to the new house....three times!!  I still can't seem to just toss them!!
I saved the Nov. 5 1993 special section of the Chicago Tribune that profiled the Bulls without Michael Jordan.  Again, I have moved this three times!!
Can't find the rocks for Jackie's paperwhites.  I know they are here somewhere.
Moved two coffee pots..... don't drink coffee.  And there are two boxes of coffee filters.  Usually I offer people coffee when they are visiting.  But most people have had my coffee and prefer to just sip turpentine out of a glass bottle.  Just sayin', I don't do coffee very well.
Spent 14 days looking for the clips to hold the shelves up in our white IKEA cabinet that we put the Santas and nutcrackers in.  Discovered today the clips are still in the cabinet and I have been looking for something not missing.
Found a really nice Chicago Bulls shirt.... size Large...that I can't wear and don't ever remember buying.
And a Disney sweatshirt...size medium.  Thinking maybe Julia had that at one time.

Discovered I have 27 wooden pants hangers and 6 pairs of hanging pants.  Figure I can rotate the hangers and never wear them out.
I threw out a bunch of wooden clothes pins and went to the zoo, only to learn they are looking for wooden clothespins for a craft project.  I had about 200.  Saved them for at least 10 years and the day after I toss them someone needs them.  Go figure.
Learned that my Grandfather Kohler was a fireman on the Chicago Northwestern Railway and he used to tell my mother and her sisters about crossing the plains and seeing the herds of buffalo.  He met Sitting Bull also.  Never knew that when he was alive.
So, if you are looking for a free Bulls shirt, or Disney sweatshirt, or some vacuum bags.... let me know and you can have them.
As for the rest of the day?  Guess I'll just settle back and wait until my winning numbers are drawn in the huge Powerball game tonight.
Maybe have a glass of wine in celebration/to ease the pain.

The Bulls' shirt

Wonder who likes Mickey??

thanksgivings

I am taking the time to assess life.  And offering Thanksgivings.
I am thankful that we went with the wider single garage doors.  Unfortunately, they are not wide enough for some people.
I am thankful that Julia celebrates a birthday tomorrow in Switzerland.  Unfortunately, she will not be with us.
I am thankful banks give out mortgages.  Unfortunately, we need one.
I am thankful Emily has 4 great dogs.  Unfortunately, they poop a lot.
I am thankful our instant on hot water system is providing hot water.  Unfortunately, I had several luke warm showers.  Not a bad thing, mind you.
I am thankful paint scrapes on cars can be buffed out.  Unfortunately, we have to have that done.
I am thankful for udder cream.  Unfortunately, my hands are killing me they are so dry.
I am thankful for friends and families.  No unfortunately about that.
I am thankful for my good health.  Unfortunately, I have some misgivings about that stress test today.
I am thankful for whomever left the peppermint schnapps at my house following the cast party.  Unfortunately, I have some hot chocolate mix and the bottle is now almost empty.
I am thankful for recycling.  Unfortunately, I forgot to put it out, I guess, because my cans are overflowing.
I am thankful for all the former students who still talk to me.  Unfortunately I can't remember their names.  And there are only 3!
I am thankful for laws that allow thespians to marry.
I am thankful the lady at the drivers license office in Oregon asked me, without laughing,  if my weight had changed from the 175 listed on my license.  Unfortunately, it has.
I am thankful I can still function without a diaper.
I am thankful for Jackie.  Seriously, she puts up with a lot from me.
I am thankful for Emily.  She takes care of the old folks in oh so many ways.
I am thankful for Julia.  When she was born the nurse brought her out for me to see.  She was covered with slime and brown stuff with huge red marks on her head and the nurse said, "Isn't she beautiful?"  I thought "Oh god, what a mess! Could you hose her down or something?"  The nurse was right...she was/is beautiful.
She was born on Nov. 22....Thanksgiving.
I am thankful.

Ghost dogs, hums, and trickle down effects

OK, a little of weirdness.
On Friday night, after the show, the cast stopped up at Abraham's for a drink.
I only had one.  You must believe this, or nothing good can come of this story.
I was driving home about 12:30.  (a.m.)  On Flagg Road, just after the cemetery where the road curves, a giant white dog was standing in the westbound lane.
My headlights picked it up and I slowed down, moving into the eastbound lane to avoid hitting it.  The dog was taller than my Honda's front fender.  It had long, white flowing hair and eyes that followed my car as I carefully inched past it.  Its elongated wolf like nose stood out from the fur.
It was a Ghost Dog!!!  Already dead, nothing could kill it!  I need not have worried about hurting it.... its soul was already sold to the highest bidder.
I told the cast about my encounter and they refused to believe.  Maybe it was undercooked potato or bad beef, but they felt there was more gravy train than the grave about Ghost Dog.
Following a fun cast party..... at which no one admitted to seeing Ghost Dog and no one stripped, passed out or puked... Sunday was spent striking the set.
Curt (or Todd...depending) called on his way home at about 2 and reported seeing....Ghost Dog!
Alive, and in some one's yard.
At least he thinks.  I believe Ghost Dog wanders the fields at night, waiting for a soul to scare.  I pray 'tis not me!
My hum seems to be coming from the fridge.  It is noisier in the garage than in the house, and in the hall than in the kitchen.  Must have to do with vibrations.
And the water fall?  Seems to be a discharge from the water filter system.  When the plumbers show up Monday, maybe they can figure out a solution.
Still dusting...still putting away boxes.  We now have 32 boxes of bandages and 4 travel size powders.

Ehh??? What??? What are the words???

Living in a new house is a weird experience.
In the middle of the night I can't find the bathroom.
I don't know what all the light switches do.
There are new angles to learn, sometimes painfully in the dark, and trust me, I have learned a couple.
But it is the noises that are the most vexing.
Everyone knows I have a hearing loss.  I don't hear some sounds well.  The TV is turned up a little higher than normal, conversations get missed, sometimes when Jackie calls I don't hear her. (To be honest, sometimes I do and just don't respond.)
On the second night in the house I became aware of a humming noise.  I stress I, she does not hear it.
It's constant.  To me it sounds like the pump running.
So I went downstairs and listened....no noise.
Went upstairs and ... noise.
I did this several times.  At first I thought a water softener was recharging.  Or the iron removal  thing-a-ma-bob was working.  Or the well pump was pumping.  Or the water heater was firing up.  Nothing was making noise in the basement.
I put my ear to the pipes and on one pipe that comes down to the sewer I can hear water trickling down.... like a small waterfall.  I go upstairs and check each and every faucet and bathroom, but nothing is on.  I ask Jackie if she has used any water in the past 10 minutes and the answer is no.
I return to the basement and listen again.....water trickling down the pipe, like a small waterfall.
In my head (literally) both issues are related.  The trickling and the hum are in someway tied together.  But how?
When I went to bed all I heard was The HUM....... but I did manage to fall asleep.  At around 3, or 5, my eyes were a little blurry, I went back to the basement and listened to the pipe......I could hear water trickling down, like a small waterfall.
Getting back to sleep was hard.  The HUM kept me awake.
Now I have a problem.  Do I call the plumbers and tell them about The HUM and have to admit I was listening to the pipes?
Or do I just bide my time and hope it disappears, or I become used to it.
Maybe I should just teach the house some words.  (Old joke for fifth graders...why do hummingbirds hum?  They don't know the words.)
And those of you who know me understand how my imagination and insufferably optimistic outlook combine to create multiple scenarios where the house is destroyed, damaged, rendered unfit for habitation, or in some other way results in a disaster of unmitigated proportions.
And through it all, The HUM will survive.

Home sweet home!

OK..to answer all the endless questions:
Yes, we are in our new house.
No, not everything is done.
Yes, the move went well.
Yes, opening night of the play was a success.
No, I am not disappointed by the election results.
 In no particular order:
I moved the last piece of crap at about 4:15 today, not that my bicycle is crap.  I have a problem.  It will not hurt the world to throw stuff out and it may improve the world if I/we stop buying more stuff.  I packed at least 11 candles.  Most of them have not been burned.  Emily is having a candle party.  Mom was invited.  Here is my version of the conversation.  Figure out who is talking.
Are you going to order any candles.
Candles, candles, we don't need any more stinkin candles.
I may order some.
We never burn the ones we have.
Why don't you burn your candles?
I'm afraid it'll start a fire.
And of course I packed at least 11 cakes or bars of scented soap.  Make any wisecracks you want, they are mine!  I have soap for a lifetime!!
As we were packing up the kitchen stuff she handed me a bundt type pan and said, "I never use this and don't want it, so throw it out."
My response:  I'll save it for a garage sale next spring.
It's a disease, I swear.  And my children seem to have inherited it.
After the final garage sale ever last fall, I vowed never to have another.  Here I go.
And no, not everything is done.  Some minor trimming, front porch stuff, a little staining of the downstairs windows....nothing major.
Part of being me is being cheap.  Not smart cheap, cheap cheap.  So when I looked at the allowance for shelving, I said, "Hey, my brother in law can help me do this for half that."  We worked on it for one day, ran out of materials, he went on vacation, we moved and bingo....still no closet shelving.
I did not consider that a problem until it came to putting food into the non existing pantry because the shelves are sitting in the garage waiting to be cut.  And the towels are in boxes because there are no shelves in the three (3!!!!) linen closets.  And the winter coats are laying on the floor because I have not cut the pole in the two weeks I have bought it for the hall closet.
If I hadn't been so cheap I'd be able to find a towel.
Finally, the play was a hoot.  We had an opening night crowd that was ready to laugh and we were ready to make them laugh.  If you live in the area, come see "A Dickens of a Christmas Carol."
You'll be happy it is a cheap night out and no shelves are required.

silence is golden

This may be the last post for a few days.
Wednesday morning, 7 a.m.....actually, I believe that was a Simon and Garfunkel album, but I digress.
Wednesday morning, 7 a.m...... the movers will be a knockin' at our door.  They will take our furniture and some boxes and head west toward Emily's.  There they will pick up the rest of the furniture and the snow blower and haul it all to our new house at 10105 Shagbark Ln.
I/We are not ready.
The closets are not done because I opted to do them.  We will be stacking towels and clothes on the floor.  Probably.  With luck, our master bedroom closet will be done and we can hang  some stuff.
We have a lot of clothes.  I have a lot of clothes.  I have t shirts to wear outside while working in the yard, t shirts to wear while painting, t-shirts to wear while sleeping and t-shirts to wear.  That's a lot of t-shirts.  And there are regular shirts, sweatshirts, pants.......shoes.....all the stuff that has to go that we won't have a place to put right away.  Of course, someone suggested I maybe don't need all of those shirts, but during the summer I can go through 2 or 3 shirts a day...more if I eat.
Putting up shades and curtains will be on the agenda for next week.  If people are that desperate to see old people in their underwear, well it'll serve them right to look!
It was like a three ring circus in the house today.  Appliance installers came; two of them in two trucks. Two plumbers....in two trucks.  Two painters...in two trucks.  Me.  Jackie in her car.  Three crew guys in three trucks.  Seriously, there were about 11 people working in the house at the same time!  I tried to hide in the closet to stay out of everybody's way, but it was impossible not to bump into someone.
And none of them were bothered.  The plumbers worked around the appliance guys, who worked around the trim guys who worked around the painters, who worked around the plumbers.....it was really like watching a finely tuned clock only it was utterly chaotic.
For someone with a little ADD, like me, it was fascinating because I could see so many things happening at the same time!
They all shared tools....how everyone keeps track of their own gear is beyond my comprehension.
I/we left at about 12:30 and I did not go back at night so I will be interested to see all that was accomplished today.
Now for some pictures.

Mantle is taking shape

The newly redesigned columns fit much better

pump, iron filter, heater, water softener....

Weow!!

So...what is new?
How about the new, redesigned, much more appropriate columns?
Or the beams in the ceiling?
Carpeting?  Trim? The shower?
The shower.  Let me briefly describe the shower.  We picked out some tiles for the shower.  We looked at some accent tiles which would give a little character to the shower.  We ordered the tile.  The tile came.  Monday:  Terry T was putting up the tile when I asked, "Where are you putting the accent pieces?"  To which he replied, "What accent pieces?"
I called Jackie...did we pick out accent pieces?  Answer...we talked about them.  Called salesman Brian....did we pick out accent pieces?  Answer....you talked about them.  But you never ordered them.
So I ordered them.  Terry T said he needed them ASAP as he wanted to finish the shower.  Salesman Brian said I could pick them up in Wood Dale Tuesday afternoon.
So I drive to Wood Dale, which is near O'Hare, pick up the tile and say....crap, this isn't what I wanted.
Called Jackie.  She said it was.  Brought tile home.  Tile installed Wednesday.  Shower looks good.
Lesson:  Double check orders.  Double check deliveries.  Double check everything.
Wish we had done that with the posts!!
Still some trim to go, a little work on plumbing, closets, staining windows....but the majority of the work is done.  Floors get a final coat Friday, movers get our furniture Wednesday.
The journey is almost over.
Now for some pictures;

Going downstairs

the basement room for me ... out of money for carpet!!

new columns

dining room with chair rail

accent strip on shower wall

family room