Trashy Tuesday – I Knew It!

“The real test of character is whether you will do the right thing even when it costs more than you want to pay.” Michael Josephson

Hiddye Ho Friends! It is good to meet once again. I trust your past week was a good one for all. It was, as usual, a busy one for me that is for sure. I have finally completely fixed that pesky faucet drip in the bathroom. You remember the leak that escalated into the complete bathroom remodel, the rebuilding of a retaining wall, the building of a new retaining wall, the installation of a chain link fence, the fixing of our difficult mowing area at the back of our lot, our building of a flower bed and today the installation of the last two windows in the house. It it really amazing what a leaky faucet will balloon into. Who would have “thunk it”? In the midst of this I moved around 6,000 lbs. Of landscaping blocks and a driveway full of black dirt in the midst of our extreme heat wave. Whew! Am I ready for a break or what?

With that in the past, I am apparently going to need to replace my garbage disposal and water heater. I am extremely hesitant to do this. I am just a little paranoid about doing something seemingly small. I mean I still have the kitchen to remodel and we need new carpet. I don't want to do anything that will get that dominoes falling again right now.

You knew it would happen eventually. Our neighbors Jack Russel Terrier type dog got loose again. It was maybe the 4th or 5th time last week. This time he wanted to run across the street. He didn't make it. He was hit by an SUV. He is apparently okay, fortunately. What is unfortunate is that our neighbors apparently can't figure out a way to keep track of this dog. It is one thing for it to be a rare accident but his getting loose is the norm and has been every since they got him.

You knew once Kinnick got the taste of vacation travel, he would want to go again. Well, his mom and he took off again for Denver. A week long stay this time. The reports I received was that he slept most of the way. He adapts quickly, I guess, and if there is one thing he knows how to do it is sleep. I hope he enjoys his vacation.

You also knew it would happen again this year. Namely allergies. Max my black pug grand dog has his annual allergy outbreak. The poor guy is just going nuts scratching, rubbing and licking everywhere. His paws were really red and tender over the weekend. Daughter Debby hauled him off to the vet yesterday; got the meds to control the itchies. Now time will tell how effective it will be.

I knew my effort to get the store owners in our strip mall to put on a special weekend sales event with kiddie rides and adult things to do would go down in flaming infamy. I was right. Led by the “gray hairs” from the Library society arm twisting the other owners the project died. I really thought I was pretty solid with the Library folks but I underestimated the influence these “gray hairs” have. Won't make that mistake again. Since everyone else bailed out I am going forward with my plan of having a vast array of dog related events outside of Grandpa Bailey's Fitness Center and Spa. It will be held September 8 & 9. Over the weekend I will have exhibitions events of dock diving, agility, and flyball plus demonstrations with our fitness equipment. We will have fitness professionals giving advice on human and dog workouts and fitness routines. I'm hoping Kay from our gym will help on that. We will have a face painter to paint kids and dog's faces. Daughter Jenny, the elder, has convinced her masseuse to setup and give some doggie massages. Daughter Debby, the younger, will be on site to counsel dogs and their owners who have issues with private mini counseling sessions. My current wife, you ask; she will be handing out doggie and people treats, hopefully she gives the doggie treats to the dogs and people treats to people. It might work out too well the other way around. The spa's pool and whirlpool will be open to all comers for free. It will really be a great weekend. Too bad the other store owners won't gain any benefit from this.

As if anyone cares, here are the National Whatever Days for the next week:

August 29 – Nada, nothing, nil, zippo

August 30 - Frankenstein Day
International Day of the Disappeared
Toasted Marshmallow Day

August 31 – National Trail Mix Day

September 1 – Emma M. McNutt day

September 2 – VJ Day
National Beheading Day

September 3 – Skyscraper Day

September 4 – Newspaper Carrier Day

Why is it that trades people can be such infuriating ingrates? Now, don't get upset out there. Not ALL trades people fall into this behavior but I have had brushes with several times lately. Upon completing the bathroom, I called my electrician and left the normal message. Something like “I need to get a couple of things done in my bathroom, give me a call. Here is my number …..”. Weeks later at 5:30 pm while I am at the grocery store the cell phone rings. Oh, its my electrician guy explaining he is going to be in the area looking at another job that he is not interested in and would like to stop by and see what I need. “I see”, I responded. “I will be home in about 30 minutes.” I promised to give him a call when I was on my way home. Okay, cut my shopping short, got home in 15 minutes, called him. Yep, left him a message. I have not seen nor heard from him. That was 5 days ago.

My neighbor and I had a small company lined up to finish doing some landscaping between our houses. It was all set up. The time came when he should be starting. Nothing. Calls not returned so I emailed him. Eventually, I get a response that he wouldn't be able to do the job we agreed on after all. OK, fine. Ever think about letting us know so we can perhaps get someone else to do this?

Lastly, our lawn service company called to set up my annual aeration and agreed to an over-seeding. The guys come and I watch them. They aerate wonderfully. After that I went in the house thinking (incorrectly as it turns out) that seeding should be a no brainer. Wrong, that evening the current wife is inspecting the job. She discovers they only seeded our bare spots. I call them and it seems as though the crew “misread” the work order and they would come back out and do it. Sue reports they did do it rather grudgingly. She had to remind them that there is an area on the other side of the new fence. That ticked them off because they were already loaded up and had to unload again.

My observation is this, many of the trades people are people with high levels of testosterone and exude the attitude that they are here to do a favor for us on their time when they could be doing something else so they will charge whatever they feel like. Plus, they are not terribly concerned about the quality of work to boot. Does anyone encounter this? Maybe it is just me. I would really, really like to know of reliable trades people that I could use when needed.

Tropical storm Isaac is affecting the blog this week. Everywhere I turn, people are focused on this storm. Where am I to find some good Drivel to share. BO has just told me to take this storm seriously. Oh, BO – no that is not “Body Odor”, it is President Barack Obama. So I am taking this seriously and must close my blog and prepare. For what I am not sure but I will prepare. Until we meet again, remember grind your beans a pot at a time. May we all take a sip, savor and enjoy our French Roast. Until we meet again, TA! Oh BTW, have I mentioned how much I love Missouri Peaches? We can't get them any longer. A very short season this year apparently. Nothing compares to them. If you have an extra Missouri peach, send it my way. Yum!