Whose bright idea was this, anyway?

Goal: Daily Exercise (at least 15 minutes)
Sitrep: 1x Swimming (75 minutes)

Does anyone have a "I Survived My First Homeowner Disaster" t-shirt? Okay, maybe disaster is too strong a word. But Saturday morning when I was crouching under my dismantled bathroom sink and desperately trying to catch the water pouring out of the pipes, it sure felt like one!

The darn think has been draining slow and no amount of D.raino or bleach would clear it. Then it stopped draining period. So. I got something stronger, a big bottle of Rot.oroo.ter drain opener. Poured some in, waited, tried to flush with water. It foamed and bubbled and after a few hours the sink was empty. So I tried to brush my teeth and it backed up. Sigh. Poured the rest of the bottle down the drain. Or tried to, anyway. Let it sit overnight with no success. So Saturday morning I took the darn thing apart. I managed to fit the mop bucket underneath before pulling the pipes apart. Alas, I hadn't realized all the drain opener solution was pooled in the pipe and the trap. That combined with the now-released water made a heck of a foaming mess that overflowed the bucket rather quickly. I grabbed a towel to soak it up and prevent it from getting onto the nice hall flooring. Too bad it was a purple towel. Now it's purple with ugly yellowish splotches on it.

And after all that, the stupid pipes were clear. All the way from the sink down through the trap. Yet it wasn't draining. So I figured there had to be a clog in the part of the pipe coming from the wall and curving down to meet the trap. Only I couldn't see it. By this point it's been hours. So I put the sink back together, cleaned up and headed out to meet my little sis and her family as previously arranged. After dinner, I stopped and bought a plunger. Wouldn't you know it, that cleared the clog. For Pete's Sake!!! After hours of banging and shoving and crouching and pulled shoulder and leg muscles, a $3 plunger did the trick. [rolling eyes] It sure was easier when I had a landlord to call for issues like this!

Only now as I write this, I remember the loud popping/sucking noise when I used the plunger and am wondering if maybe I should go down in the basement and make sure I didn't rupture a pipe or something. Whimper. I hate going down there. There are spiders. ;)

I Wonder Why

Sitrep: Can you guess?

I've been thinking a lot about my Grandpa and my Aunt N the last few months. I'm not sure why. It was before my coworkers father started to get so ill, so that didn't spark it. Not a day goes by lately that I don't think on the two of them. Grandpa's been gone some 10 years now, and Aunt N...I can't remember how long. Her death was such a shock, those days passed in a blur and all I can remember is the month and date, not the year. Although it's been 2 or 3 years now.

When I think about Grandpa it doesn't hurt, exactly. It's hard to describe. A general sense of sadness, of missing. But when I think about my aunt, it's starting to hurt again, although not as intensely as those first few months after she killed herself. The evening I returned from the funeral, a good friend took me down to O'Toole's, and once Bartender B heard the news, the drinks were on the house...I had just enough to fall apart and then my friends took me home. Where we hung out and I talked and screamed and cried. It was good to get it out, to not bottle that pain up inside. And slowly over a few months I dealt with N's death, the way of it, the why, the guilt I felt for not having noticed anything when I'd been there just a few short weeks before then. Several months after N's passing, she came to me in a dream. In my dream we were all together and upset and missing her, but she was standing right there...at first I couldn't see her either, she was just a somebody in my dream that I didn't recognize, but that came to see why I was upset. When I explained why, she put her arms around me and said "I'm right here." I woke up feeling better than I had in days. It was a comforting dream, and I felt very much as if she's okay now, at peace with herself and her decision.

Maybe I think on it so much now because Grandpa died in June, and around July 4th was the last time I visited with my Aunt. She was gone by mid-August. I guess when I think on her now it doesn't hurt as much as it did at first, and I must have just pushed it aside for the most part for awhile now. There isn't guilt anymore, just a kind of wistful "I wish" and achy type feeling. It's not all tied up in anger and resentment anymore. Just a sadness and a pang, and wondering if anyone else thinks about her too. (I'm sure they do!) And a wondering why we tiptoe around the subject and don't talk about her. Or Grandpa. Maybe it hurts too much.

So I think on both of them, and get tears in my eyes and miss them. And then get on with my day, hoping I'll see them again in my next life, even if only in passing.

Mine Eyes Have Seen...

Sitrep: =8-[

You would think a trip to the library would be a safe option; a place I could let my guard down a little bit when it comes to who I have with me. All I can say is I am soooooo glad Shanni wasn't with me on yesterday's weekly outing to the library...just KT (17, almost 18, and thinking of joining the Navy, not the National Guard.)

After a leisurely morning that started at St.arbu.cks, we got to the library just before it opened at 1pm. Sat outside in the shade for a bit; it was truly a gorgeous weekend. After meandering around the library for an hour or so, we went to the self-checkout computer, which is just off to the side of the main lobby and entrance. It's right next to this large window overlooking the computer lab. I was rooting around in my purse for my library card, when KT whispered my name is this voice that was just not usual...I looked up and she had this expression on her face, part horror, part fascination, and she said "There's someone watching P.o.rn in there!!!!" I looked into the computer lab, thinking she was surely over-reacting to a nude picture. But nope. There on a computer screen, in all their, uhh, glory, was a man and woman having sex. Naturally (hah) it's zoomed in on the important, uhh, "moving" bits. I admit, it took me a few seconds to react.

I mean really. I was standing in the lobby of the public library for Pete's Sake. I couldn't be seeing what I was seeing...I don't care if you want to watch adult movies (as long as no children or animals are involved!); and I admit to having watched one or two myself. But there's an appropriate place, and Sunday afternoon at the public library is not that place. So I marched over to the librarian and told her. She was a bit surprised, and asked which computer. So I said "Just stand over here and you'll see it." Considering I was standing in the middle of the lobby at that point she looked alarmed. [g] She stepped out from behind her desk, took one look, and just about flew into that lab and made him turn it off.

I am just so glad that Shanni wasn't with me. Not because I think it's some horrible thing or anything. I just was so not up to a conversation like that. I can just see how it would have gone. She'd've yelled out loud as can be for everyone to hear "What's that? Are they NAKED? Are they having SEX? GROSSSSS. Why are they bouncing like that? Why would he want to watch that? Is that LEGAL???? Have YOU ever done that????" And she'd be off...

The Gods were smiling on me yesterday. I only had to have a talk with a teenager who's thinking of joining the Navy...

Mayhem. Chaos. Is your work done yet?

Sitrep: Zip. This is embarrassing...

Apparently last night KT told her mom & step dad that she wants to join the National Guard. I wasn't there, but the 11pm phone call I got from my little sister would indicate that all hell broke loose. Not toward KT, but between Mom & Step dad. I'm not sure which one is for or against...apparently it was an ugly scene and my little was upset. They usually don't fight, and when they do, it's minor stuff. I'm thinking my little was supposed to have been in bed and they didn't realize she was awake. Knowing her, she probably was eavesdropping. Sigh. That's a bad habit we need to address. But I got her calmed down and off to bed. Sigh.

I'm not sure how I feel about KT wanting to join the National Guard. I knew she had something on her mind yesterday when I picked her up after dance practice. We had a quick bite at We.ndy's and then she went to the store with me on the way to her Mom's work. She was distracted, kinda downcast, and didn't want to talk about it. She's taken the S.AT and A.CT the last two weekends. I think it is hitting home to her that college is a year away, and she's worried about finances. She gets good grades, but isn't one of those honors AP students. I think she's freaking out about how to go to college, and is thinking the National Guard is a way to go. Does the Guard have the same educational opportunities as the military?

Normally, I'm all for the military. I'm an AF brat myself. But with Ir.aq and Af.ghanistan...I don't want her to do it. With just a high school degree, she'd be on the front lines, right? I know it's not 100% certain that she'd be called up, but let's face it. The Guard is deployed very heavily over there, and that includes the Montana units.

The armed services have been heavily recruiting her; the amount of stuff she gets in the mail is crazy. I don't remember ever getting that kind of mail in my junior/senior year. I guess it's just more proof of how things have changed.

I've been getting her tons of info on colleges and scholarships, and trying to get her to fill out the federal student aid forms. Maybe I'll see if I can sit down with her some weekend soon and do that. I doubt her mom will; she's not much of a planner, and definitely not in the financial area. But if it's something KT really wants to do, for whatever reasons...It sucks, big time. :( I guess I'm just like every other family member/friend out there...don't want their loved one in harm's way. I've been lucky - so far - that it's been fairly removed from me.

Why do we go overboard?

Sitrep: Zero

A coworkers father died last Saturday. His health had been getting progressively worse for months, and the last few weeks were pretty bad for J.G. She asked me to come over last night and help her put together a poster board layout/collage of pictures. So I packed up a bunch of my scrapbooking materials and headed out. When I got there, she had all these old pictures from when her Dad was a kid. Not wanting to use the originals, we headed out to find a scan & print kiosk. It took 3 hours to get them scanned (four shops before finding one that worked and was free). We were just about done when the guy working the photo counter comes over, takes one look, and says "You know at the beginning you have to agree about the copyright restrictions. You can't copy those without a release."

ExCUse me? A picture from freakin' 1935?

Copyright apparently goes for 75 years. Which means 1933 to today. So no copies, folks. Unless, of course, you have your own high-quality scanner and photo printer.

J.G. turned to him and for a second I thought she was going to collapse. (These last few weeks have been extremely hard for her!) Then she goes "But it's for my father's funeral!" Poor guy...he had no idea what to say to that. I explained we were printing them out to put on a poster board for the service. He relented, and let us. A very nice guy, really. Then he stuck around and tried to cheer up my friend.

I understand copyright protection and everything. Even agree it is necessary. But why do we have to go overboard on this? Realistically, most pictures people have that are from the 30's and 40's are going to be "studio" pictures. Yet how many of them actually have the photographer or studio's name on the back? Not very many. And even if they did, what are the odds you'd be able to find them to either buy more prints (if they even had the negatives) or to get a release?

And what about all those school pictures? What if I wanted to do a scrapbook of my sister or brother or myself using school pictures? That's from the 70's onward...Wouldn't be able to copy those, and the thought of even trying to track down the photographers...well, that would be a fun job. I'm just glad I have a very nice color scanner. Now I just need to get that printer I want that will print pages up to 12" x 12" paper size. :)

I just want to scream sometimes with how overboard we go in trying to be "protective" and "fair". What the heck ever happened to common sense?

Anyway. We did an awesome layout for her Dad's Navy years...1943-1946. He joined straight out of High School. She has pictures of his ship heading out to sea, on leave somewhere in Japan or the Philippines, his "office" on board ship (complete with pinup girls on the wall!). We found a poster board with a flag/red, white & blue graphic faded into the background. Matted the pictures on black paper, and then used a bunch of Navy themed stickers from the scrapbook store. We also put pictures from his Smoke jumper days (he was one of the original Smoke jumpers) on there as well. It turned out fabulous. Then we did another poster of family pictures - his parents on through to his grand kids. Made for a long day, but it turned out pretty darned good, if I do say so myself.

Discovering a new author

Discovering a new author feels a little like how I imagine Columbus & his sailors must have felt when they finally spied land.

Especially when they have an nice back-list to glom.

Several weeks ago I picked up "The Serpent Bride" by Sara Douglass. I'd read a chapter at the store, and it piqued my interest enough to buy a new-to-me author. It's the first in a trilogy (Darkglass Mountain), and for the first third or so I was really getting into it. Then I started running into all these other characters and places and references to events that were confusing. It was written like I, the reader, should already know about this stuff. Turns out she has something like 6+ other books set in the same world, and with some of the same characters. So I was enjoying it, but it was a tiring read because a lot of things I just didn't understand. They really, really ought to put something in the blurb or on the cover that this is a "return to", ya know?

In spite of feeling like I was slogging through the book (at first I kept having to flip back to see who was who), I liked it. Enought to go to the library yesterday and get another of her books "Hades' Daughter", first in the Troy Game series (not in the same world as the other one.)

Wow. I'll say that again. Wow. Started it shortly after getting home & eating, about 6pm, by 6:30 the TV was turned off (it was annoying me, unusual when I'm reading), and at 11:30 pm I had to make myself go to sleep. I'm captivated. :) Over halfway through the book already. And it's some 584 pages long (hardback). At lunch today I'm off to pick up the others in the series. At this rate, it'll be done by Monday. =8-O

It's a bit of a different type of book for me. Definitely in the sci-fi fantasy realm, with a bit of relationship/romance in it. The thing is, in each of the following books the characters are reincarnated. Tied together, trying to fix the messes they've made, defeat the great evil. Novel concept for me in a book. Usually I don't like a lot of angst drawn out over a lot of books; the "Romeo & Juliet Syndrome" irritates me after awhile. I might give up on this series after the next book. Who knows? But I'm captivated right now. And going to enjoy the ride while it lasts.

Connections; A Little Bit of Spring Madness

Sitrep: Nada. My "Fire" Element is seriously depleted.

Yesterday I attended a meeting with my new boss and our printer. We were meeting to discuss options and deadlines for our annual convention materials. The new boss wants to change things up this year (Yay!) after 20+ years of the same thing. Just printed in different colors. [insert rolling of eyes]. The two of them met briefly at R.'s retirement reception in the office. So this was a get-to-know meeting as well. Except they really sorta know each other...they both grew up in this town.

As I listened to them go through the

"We lived two blocks from...."
"Went to H Elementary School..."
"So did I..."
"Weren't you...."
"I remember him/her/them..."
"That's my sister...."
"Didn't she marry..."
"Yeah, he graduated..."

I felt a tiny little pang of envy. I wonder what that's like, living someplace where you're connected to so many people, things, events, places. A kind of loose-knit sweater of your life and history. Is it a warm feeling, or stifling? Scratchy and itchy, or soft and smooth? Maybe it's all of those.

I don't regret the way I was brought up. Living so far from extended family kept us very close, I think, as a small family unit with Mom, Dad, brother and sisters. I got to see things and explore places and learn things I wouldn't have otherwise. It's what made me as Strong an individual as I am today.

Maybe it wasn't so much a pang of envy, as one of curiosity. It's just not something I can easily comprehend. I guess the closest I could come to that is the cul-de-sac where my family moved when I was twelve. But even there there's only one family that's lived there since we were there. A few moved in when I was fifteen, one later, the others after I was in college/graduated college. I have one friend I've known since kindergarten, and she and her parents and her brothers are parts of the web of my life for those early few years, a few in college, brief little intertwinings since then. Maybe it's just like that, only on a larger scale, with your parents and siblings and relatives webs more closely overlapping yours.

It was just an interesting feeling, watching, listening, feeling that connection.

A Little Bit Of Spring Madness
The container garden has grown.
Green beans, carrots, romaine lettuce, green onions, bell peppers, and potatoes.
Basil, catnip (no, I didn't get a cat), chives, lemongrass, two varieties of sunflowers.
And a self-pollinating lime tree.

I believe I've said before that I'm really good at planning. We'll see how the execution goes.

It Just Goes to Show

Sitrep: nothing. :(

So. One week to the day after receiving the permit to mine in EH, HS&G has been ordered by the DEQ to stop work because they are in violation of the permit.

Seriously.

They are restricted to accessing the site via one road, and one road only. They've been using a different road. What, did they think no one was going to be watching? And if they can't even be bothered to follow a pretty simple up-front restriction on the permit (hello, it's one of the first things listed! I know, I've printed it all out and read it!) what makes anyone think they'll follow the rest of the restrictions?

Cost is $100-$1000 per day. I bet that's just pennies to them. Fines at their existing location never seemed to bother - or stop - them.

In the meantime, we're still trying to get the citizen initiated zoning approved. To prevent other developments like this from going in. And to restrict HSG from extending their operations to the remaining acreage. Hopefully their current actions will go to show the commissioners how unreliable HS&Gs promises are.

I've heard that the county assessors office is getting a lot of requests for property tax liability re-assessments now that the pit is being developed. Heh. I've gotta think about that. Not sure it might not bite me in the rear if I requested one. Would my living room remodel affect my property taxes? Of course, if I took out the closet in the sun-porch, it could no longer be listed as a 4-bedroom. Not sure what idiot filled that paperwork out. It wasn't me! Weird. For selling purposes, I can't call it a 4th bedroom. But for property taxes they do. How wrong is that?

calm, rational thought returns

Sitrep: 10 mins Boot Camp, Lawn

Now that I'm ~somewhat~ more calm, I'm able to blog. I was extremely upset yesterday and simply couldn't find the words. Astonishing, I know! It looks like the open cut mine, the gravel pit complete with batch plant, asphalt plant, etc, is going to be built in E.H. Just blocks from my house, next to two elementary schools, next to several parks, and surrounded on 3 sides by existing residential neighborhoods. Oh, and did I mention it's already a Superfund site due to freakin' Asa.rco and a century of their mining? We've almost got that cleaned up and now this...

HS&G was able to use their money to sue DEQ and get a court date within days of filing their suit. Nice, huh? They got their permit to mine the 111 acres the day before final approval was to go through on the zoning of EH, which would have prevented the mine. The issue was DEQ has been consistenly underfunded and understaffed and unable to complete environmental assessments within 90 days. They had to extend the comment period to the public on this one because there were only 2 notices, as required by law, in the paper, but they were right at the holidays... pretty convenient timing, huh? Not. It was deliberate, as the permitting process was started last June. Why wait until December to notify the public? Because many would be out of town or so busy they'd miss the notices, that's why. Anyway. The courts said that DEQ had to issue the permit at the end of 90 days even if the EA was not finished, and that the Opencut Mining Law trumps the Environmental laws in the state.

Miracle of miracles, the EA was finished that very day. Guess who paid for an independent firm to do the EA? Yep. HSG. And the DEQ has the nerve to say even though HSG paid the contractor, DEQ is the one who hired them? Huh. I don't mean to accuse the firm of anything shady...but it smacks of conflict of interest and impropriety to me. And reading the final EA, that addressed concerns submitted by residents, the responses were pretty much "it won't affect you badly because we say so". Right.

And it's not like this is simply a case of NIMBY (Not In My Backyard). There are some serious concerns about health, water, & safety. The H. Valley has been struggling with water quality issues for years. EH has additional water quality issues with Asar.co and it's lovely contamination of the area. The land they are seeking to dig up and disperse all over the property is contaminated with lead, arsenic, selenium. Testing has shown areas with more than 2x the EPA limit that requires cleanup. Yet they're simply to "move" it? Their plan is to mine within 5-6 feet of the groundwater level. Yet they have no study showing where it is. In addition, they are going to be filling a lot of their water needs from the existing irrigation canals in the area...one that many farms rely on. And these aren't your big commercial ones, either. Considering we've been in drought for years...

Then there's the safety of the trucks on the two-lane road that is barely adequate to handle existing traffic. A road already known for bad accidents. Theses trucks will have to pass the schools, go through EH...yet no traffic study, no improvements to the road are required. Our activism did manage to get some restrictions placed on their hours of operation...they were planning on 20 hours per day! Get real...They're now restricted to 5a-7p weekdays, shorter on Saturdays, none on Sunday...UNLESS they're under contract deadlines. Since they are the monopoly here, and are the only supplier for the state/county road improvements - which take place at night - the asphalt plant, etc, will be running, you guessed it, all night. They are also not allowed to drive their trucks during the school "arrival" and "departure" hours. Trucks aren't allowed to idle more than 15 minutes either. But who's gonna enforce that????

All the "precautions" HSG is required to take to diminish aesthetic impacts are ones they are supposed to be doing on their current property that I drive past daily. It's an ugly scar on the landscape, and the trees planted to block the view??? Dead, all but one. Nothing was done, and where's the enforcement? Dust, noise, lights from the current operation - nothing mitigated. Complaints have been steadily rising since the local owners were bought out 3+ years ago by an international firm. It's all words on paper... the fines are minimal and have no effect on this company as the past years have shown. Why would it, they're a monopoly and growth is strong in the valley. Demand is high. Although if people knew they were getting stuff from land contaminated by Asar.co that hasn't been cleaned up...

The final commissioner meeting was yesterday for zoning, and it was supposed to be finalized. But all of a sudden, they've extended the deadline until next week for "comments", and are considering giving HSG a variance allowing the remaining 389 acres of the property to be mined. Dammit. The citizens have done everything required of us by law...it's CITIZEN INITIATED zoning, out of legitimate concerns over air quality, noise, roads, water, lead/arsenic contamination...We have a right to direct how our town develops and grows. So yet again I've written the commissioners, as hopefully the rest of EH residents have. But I'd bet everything HSG gets their variance anyway. Regardless of what more than 80% of the citizens want or not.

It sucks. It really does. We don't have the money to appeal the courts decision (which I'm betting in future gets overturned by a higher court - there are other cases in other counties pending on this very issue) because the law requires us to put up a bond if we want to appeal.

Anyway. It just makes me want to cry. A giant pit in the center of my beautiful town. Air quality is going to be bad - the smell from the asphalt plant alone will cause headaches for me, the dust is going to kill my allergies. Not sure what it will do to my dog's asthma. I guess I'm going to have to figure out how to get AC installed in my house before that goes on line...Too bad, because one of my favorite things about living out here is the fresh air.

Keep your fingers crossed, say your prayers, send your positive energy this way...whatever you have, we need it to keep them restricted to at least the 111 acres.

Turning Into Earth Mother

Sitrep: 10 mins Boot Camp (I had to stop - not sure what was up mentally last night. It improved with sleep, though, as I my out-loud laughter woke me up at 5:36am!)

Okay, not really. [g] But I've finally decided to start my container vegetable garden. I'm going to have two containers - half whiskey barrels I found at Low.e's. The list of what to plant isn't very long for me as I'm such a picky eater. Here it is:

Carrots (#1 of course!)
Onions
Potatoes
Green Beans
Lettuce

I'm still hoping we're going to do corn again at my little sister's, but considering it's June and we haven't even begun to plant...

From what reading I've done (yes I've researched. Do I do anything without researching first?) I think I'm going to be able to put the lettuce, carrots and onions in one container. The potatoes and green beans in another. I might add a third container depending on space. We'll see how much of this actually comes off. [g] You know me, great on planning, lousy at implementing.

I'm starting late, so who knows if they'll grow...it's at least worth a try. So get ready for gardening posts...like you weren't sick enough of my lawn care woes! [g]

"A Slash of Blue"

Last Week: 2+ hours yard work (mowing, edging, trimming, cleanup); 45 min walk
Goals: 2x Boot camp, Continue w/yard work

Moving into a new office building a few miles north of our old one means I take a new route to work. Instead of taking the highway west in town, I now go down E.H.'s Main Street and the head North for several miles, then West into the newer part of town. It means taking smaller, two-lane roads north into the valley. The wide open view over mostly unspoiled fields west and north and in between those two points is stunning first thing in the morning, as well as the opposite view coming home at end day. Due to the snowfall this winter, and now the rain (June is supposed to be very wet as well), everything is green.

There's something about that filtered light barely lighting the valley floor and highlighting the mountains, those patches of green, the browns and blues and grays...it makes my breath catch in my throat, my heart seize in my chest. It's in those moments that a little thought flits through my brain, a sense of wonder, "I can't believe I Live Here." What stroke of luck of fortuitous living of sheer happenstance brought me to this place seven years ago?

A slash of Blue —
A sweep of Gray —
Some scarlet patches on the way,
Compose an Evening Sky —

A little purple— slipped between —
Some Ruby Trousers hurried on —
A Wave of Gold —
A Bank of Day —
This just makes out the Morning Sky.

~ Emily Dickinson