What's making you happy today?

[BigV]

that's the intersection of talent and luck you told us about! Congratulations!

[limey]

Good luck Sundae! Excellent, Clod!


Sent by thought transference

[orthodoc]

I am happy.

Finished the last class I'll sit through in this entire program; wrote the last exam until Boards; escaped and drove and drove north until I found my way to my own little patch of paradise.

I walked around my gardens, visited my trees. Checked on the fruit, the flowers, the wilder part. Sat very still and watched the does nibble at the slope and then fade back into the brush to bed down. Fed the small creatures.

Tomorrow promises so much. i have to fix the tomatoes and other veggies, do what must be done to get that deep green amazing growth going; and I have to go into town to the market house and visit the 17 year old who makes amazing wooden kitchen utensils as his means of funding university. I'll buy a few more things than I really need. And I'll stop in to the local family-owned bakery and buy some pizza and some cinnamon flatbread and whatever else they've got going, and listen to the local jazz for a bit ...

and I'll bring my treasures back and pound out that paper on polio immunization in Nigeria, once the WHO suspension is lifted ...

and it will be a great Saturday. At the end of the day I'll take my second son out for a birthday dinner (lots of birthdays this month) and encourage him in his recovery from many physical and psychiatric issues.

I am happy.

[BigV]

Ahhhhhhhh.......

[Griff]

Early ride today, reached the trailhead at 7. Trail conditions were ideal everywhere [retrogrouch]except where some highly motivated folks ruined a technical climb by turning it into a banked curves downhill for kids too lazy to get in shape to ride.[/retrogrouch] The trails were wicked fast and there is a really tight single track section that's been getting more traffic lately so its hard-packed with a lot of dips and quick turns... nice. Walk and short run after. now sweaty

[Undertoad]

5000 btu air conditioner is not expensive and makes life comfy

[Chocolatl]

Got to meet up with old high school friends at a wedding this weekend. Among them were an ex and a boy I had a crush on in 10th grade (lo these many moons ago.) Both of them are still single and, from a woman's perspective, understandably so.

While I was glad to enjoy their company, seeing them made me really, REALLY happy I did not pursue long term relationships with either if them.

[glatt]

We had this amazing HVAC guy who also did electrical work. He was a real gem. Old guy who knew everything and really loved our old house with all it's idiosyncrasies. He helped us out 3 or 4 times when we first bought the place. We were so sad when he retired about ten years ago and sold his business to a guy who had been apprenticing with him. We had that new guy do some maintenance on our AC and he was fine, but he wasn't Joe.

Well, today my wife noticed a problem with our AC. Which sucks. So she called the new guy and he said one of his technicians would be over later, and who shows up but Joe! I figured he would be in a nursing home by now.

Anyway, I'm really happy. Happier than I should be. I mean, our fucking AC is broken. But Joe is on the job! I hope he's still there when I get home. I mean I don't really. I hope he just reconnects a wire or something and the AC works again. But I'd love to see him.

[glatt]

It was more than just a loose wire, but Joe hooked us up and we have AC again!

Apparently some insects got into a little transformer in the condenser and shorted it out. He had to replace the part.

[ZenGum]

A good tradie is a damn good thing to have.

[glatt]

He checked the fuses out by the condenser, and even though they were good, he left us a spare fuse for free* in case one ever goes out. That's the kind of small thing that will buy loyal customers and give great word of mouth business. Joe rocks!

*Considering the whole service call was a few hundred bucks, the fuse wasn't exactly free, but it felt like it.

Most people wouldn't give you a freebie like that. This is the same guy who years ago gave us a radiator key so we could bleed our radiators ourselves, and who noticed that the pressure relief valve on our boiler didn't have a drain pipe to take any potential scalding water discharge down to floor level where it wouldn't burn us, so he installed one for free. He had an extra one in the truck from a water heater he had removed earlier in the day. Took an extra 2-3 minutes. Each time, he was charging us for the visit and these were all freebies.

[Griff]

That is really cool glatt! The electrician who signed off on my panel way back when stopped by a couple days ago. It was really nice talking shop with him. He was wondering if our whole house electric on demand water heater held up and we talked about alternatives if I ever have to scrap it (not making a sales pitch). He has a lot of alternative energy background and ideas... and I gave him a chance to complain about militarism and the NSA so he was happy too.

[Sundae]

We ordered pizza last night.
Dads is in hospital for at least the next four days; probably more as he didn't start his steroid drip until this morning.
Mum left with him at 09.00 and didn't get home until 19.10. Delays, delays, delays, then having to repeat all the information given to the GP, and the last consultant, and the one before that, and the results of the last ECT and...... you get my drift.

So she came home fuming and said, "SOD IT!"
We're not "allowed" to order in pizza when Dad is here.
Because it's cheaper from Tesco.
But it's so much nicer delivered!

Given my recent wait-a-thons in hospital, I think Mum was really pleased to have me to come home to and moan to. Quite justified moaning.
And I know she was pleased to tuck into pizza with me.

So we had a lovely night, eating too much; I had a can of beer - just one - Mum had wine which she left in the fridge and I did not touch. And we watched the silly things we both bond over and really laughed.

When we get on, we get on well. And I know we both went to bed relaxed and un-fraught. I'll bet Mum woke in the night and worried. She called him first thing after all. But I'm doing what I can.

I've organised our first Tesco (supermarket) online delivery for tomorrow - woohoo!
First-timer discount wipes out the delivery charge and still makes it cheaper than shopping yourself and getting a taxi home. And although I've hauled around bulky items for years, I'm trying to show Mum & Dad an easier way.

Given that Dads is going to have to seriously take things easy when he gets back, I think it's a worthwhile experiment. Will wait and see how many substitutions there are...

Anyway, Mum & I are going to have Chinese tomorrow, Friday or Saturday night. Depends how she feels. It's a surprise
Tesco Chinese. But that's the least I can do. And she does like the old Tesco Chinese.

Apart from that I'm doing the things she usually does even before I wake up, or I have to make appointments to do: washing, ironing, hoovering, dusting etc.
Trying to be a good girl. It's times like this I realise how much she loves him, despite how angry she gets. Which by association means she loves me too.

[Clodfobble]

Originally Posted by Sundae

I had a can of beer - just one - Mum had wine which she left in the fridge and I did not touch.

Sundae, you know I love you, but--dammit, woman. I am pretty angry at your mother for enabling you. If you were my daughter, I wouldn't have alcohol in the house, even if it meant I didn't get wine with my occasional pizza. I know you fight your own struggle daily, and you're doing the best you can, but our families are supposed to be safety nets, not tripwires.

[chrisinhouston]

I feel pretty good as I was able to help my step son and his wife by painting the interior of their old home on the west side of Houston as they hope to rent it out next month. It is a 3 bedroom, about 2000 sq ft and I boutht10 gallons of paint and so far have used about 7 to 8 and am only left with some touch up. I painted it the same color throughout which made the going easier but it has a fair amount of wear and tear what with 5 kids living there. Need to do some trim work on the door and window frames.

They and the kids are on a summer road trip to the east coast to visit family for 2 weeks, it was a good time to paint while they were gone and it took me 4 days although I typically only painted between 9am and 3pm to avoid heavy cross town traffic.

Not that I would want to do it for a living but I wonder what a professional painter would have charged?