Not as pervasive as last winter. Just the sun porch today. The roofers are tearing off one side of the garage wing and hoping it doesn't rain. G cut back all the shrubs so they have a clear path of perhaps four feet in width to work from. Makes it easier than fighting with bushes all day. They covered all the greenery to protect it from shingles. Riley has barked himself silly over them. Now, he is quiet. I think he remembers that roofers have coffee. They poured coffee into the snowbanks last winter and he would hurry out to chew and lick the coffee soaked ice. He will lap up coffee out of my mug if I set it where he can reach, by mistake.Riley seems better today. Not so much foot licking.
I was up early again this morning after a fitful night's sleep. Dreaming again of living in Europe. Big, gray concrete apartment. People I didn't care for. Everything colorless. I probably woke up early so as to end the dreaming. Are dreams messengers?
I accomplished nearly everything on my Sunday to do list except for the legal paper for my daughter. Slipcovers changed, furniture rearranged, stuff removed like the Christmas wreath and antique quilt hung behind the sofa. Everything vacuumed. Now I want to wash the kitchen floor. I'm totally caught up on the laundry. I even have the used slipcovers washed and dried. I have my work clothes in the dryer right now--as I spilled coffee on them on the way home.
Yesterday a customer returned plants she dug up out of her garden. They weren't the right "colors". She bought them, planted them, let them grow and then decided to return them and get her money back. I was speechless. And on our newly constructed road, all four lanes were open for traffic this week and an ambulance with flashing lights and siren was trying to get through. Do you think any of the big SUV's would move over? The truck in front of me and me (of course) pulled over to the side and were PASSED by the SUV's behind us. Finally, the ambulance drove into the oncoming lanes of traffic rather than try and get past the idiots on my side of the street. During all the construction, I often wondered what would happen if there was an ambulance or fire engine trying to get past. Our fire station is just up from the construction site. Now I know.
We have a multi million dollar "secondary" fire station on this road. They had to build a big station to hold the 800K new truck, the 800k plus Tower One (to reach third floor fires in a town with only two story buildings) and the even more expensive Hazmat truck. Nearly three million dollars worth of fire trucks that don't go anywhere. We hardly ever have a fire. And no Hazmat incidents other than the drunk boater who filled his boat with gasoline instead of the boat's gas tank. Tower One is so heavy it gets 3 MPG and goes out on fender bender calls.
Actually, now that our town has a rule that a fire truck has to go out to all motor vehicle accidents, the trucks do get some time on the road. And, they do roll all these new trucks out of the fire station in the mornings and turn on all the lights and leave them out there flashing away for quite some time. Festive. Riley's doggie day care is nearby so I get to witness all the light flashing. Frequently. Really, really stupid. I live and pay taxes in one of the stupidest Towns in America. AND, they plan to spend 5 million on another CENTRALLY located station. AND, 6 million on a brand spanky new Police Station. You really would assume from all this that we have fires blazing up several times a day. And, that the police did more than race to Papa John's for pizza. Go ahead, call them--see if they say they are "too busy" to come help you! It's an event to see a Police Car. All brand new by the way.
I have a lunch date with a friend on Thursday of this week and a penciled in date with another friend on Wednesday to just sit and talk. I haven't been free to do these things since March, so I am looking forward to more time with my girlfriends. Thursday is Canada Day and my friend is Canadian. So we will celebrate the day together. I like holidays. And Fourth of July is coming up. In Maine we have Winter, Mud Season and the Fourth of July. We didn't have much Winter. No Mud Season. And now you have to worry about the Fourth of July being a disappointment. Global Warming is hitting Maine pretty hard this year. We had Spring and that never happens. And the Spring we had was sunny and very warm. Freaky.
Dear Lord! I think we live in the same place. We are an incorporated village with our own private Police force and Fire Dept. It has many good points but we also have many of the problems you mention. Often we, lifetime residents, shake our heads at the "New, Bright, Ideas" that they come up with, throw a boat load of money at, and turn out to be no better than what we had for the last 50 years.
ReplyDeleteRegarding your question about workers yesterday. It's a lesson that has taken me 62 years to learn because I was raised to do the best job that I can when hired for a job. It hardly matters anymore. I see it everywhere including my own job which I just gave up after 12 years, after being told that they only thank/reward people when they are leaving...huh??? Good to know. I'm officially done and happy I don't have to work outside the home anymore. I mean no disrespect to anyone but I see it as a generational thing. I'm constantly shocked to see the lack of respect for employers, customers, and even for themselves. I see people around here come to work looking like they haven't brushed their teeth, combed their hair, or even washed their clothing much. No shame or self respect at all.