I got up at 7 am after going to bed early. I must have been tired. Elsa and I did some of our walk. She was anxious to get home and get her breakfast. She was hungry.
I sent out a few updates. I was running behind. I also completed all the instruction videos for my application to Step-Up Tutoring. Mind you, I will be doing this for free. This is the most rigorous application process I have ever gone through. Of course, they are asking everyone and anyone over the age of fourteen to participate as tutors. I think they might be asking too much from people. It will be interesting to see if they get a good response.
Richie arrived at 9 am to install the second fan. I replaced the broken one with the same model. I thought of getting one with a wider span, but they didn't have it in white. I like the lighter look. When he was finished, I asked him how much. He said the same, $60. I told him he had only been here for an hour, actually less. He said, "My mother told me I should charge $60 to install a fan." I didn't argue. I can still afford the luxury of avoiding conflict, but I didn't feel good about the exchange.
I called Judy. She set me straight. She said he usually charges $150 for half a day. If you have less, you're lucky if he charges you less. He has to travel half an hour to get here. She also told me that it would have cost me a great deal more if I hired an electrician. I felt better knowing I hadn't been taken advantage of.
While he was here, I worked on the garden. I did that as much to get out of the house while he was here. I do find his negativity overwhelming.
Yvette had pulled out just before I came out. Perfect. Her car was blocking access to this shrub I wanted to work on. It has an asparagus fern growing right in the middle of it. Those spines are something else. I had gloves on, clipped the stalks as close to the ground as possible, and painted the remaining bits with Clorox.
Then I went over to attack the asparagus fern in the strip by along the driveway. I noticed the vine on the fence between my neighbor's lot and mine. I started pulling it down. It's tricky getting in there. My plants are growing thicker, and they crowd up against the fence, which faces south. Once I had done some work on the vine, I started pulling up the asparagus ferns. Some had already produced fruit. I can only hope that they are still unripe and not capable of generating new plants.
My legs felt strong enough for me to think of working on that irregularly landscaped area in my front yard. Irregular isn't quite the word for it. It's where the builders dumped the extra soil and rock dugout when they dug out the foundation for the house. They just shoved it into a corner and planted on top of it. It's actually kind of neat. Clambering back there is a bit like walking on the moors of England. I took it on with the help of my walking sticks.
It all worked out well. I got up there safely for the first time since we moved here. I know that everyone thinks my legs are getting worse instead of better, watching me walk in my careful way. Oh, well. No one spits on me. It's all good. But surprise, I am doing better. Yes, when I sit for a while, I need to have a moment to get my hip in gear. But once it's in, I'm good to go.
I have been doing ice water facials. I remember hearing years ago that Paul Newman did this every day to keep his face in shape. He had a face worth keeping in shape. I started it because I read it is one way to snap yourself out of a bad mental space. What I discovered is that it feels great. I rotate my head back and forth, breathing the way I do when I swim. The procedure has a good effect on my mood. Even better, it makes my skin and eyes look great. I have been suffering from itchy eyes. They look like they are shrinking in my face. After the ice water facial, wow! They look bright blue and clear again. Also, my vision was clearer.
I had plans to go out to do some chores, running my car on gas. Can you imagine? I have to work to use the gas motor instead of the electric one? If I don't use it, it will die on me. I was doing some work on the computer when I heard a woman's voice calling me.
I didn't recognize her and wondered what she wanted. She said, "Were you the woman who called the police the other night? "I said, yes. She said, "I just wanted to thank you." Okay. Apparently, none of her immediate neighbors had called. This was a surprise. The woman said her neighbors were uncaring people. She is unaware of the way she comes off. She is very loud. Very few people use air-conditioning; all our houses are open. That means when you speak loudly, you can expect that everyone will hear you. The police were called to her house several times because of altercations between her and her son. The other night the fight was between a man and a woman. She explained that her daughter's ex-boyfriend came over and beat her up.
I only caught the tail end of the altercation. I heard the woman say, "Get out of my house!' Then a car alarm went on, off, on again, and then a car drove away. I had just dialed 911 as he drove away. The police called me back, and I reported a domestic incident. The woman told me that some man had come over that evening and said the police were on their way and he was staying with her until they arrived. The woman, the mother of the girl, wanted to thank him too. I figured out it was my next-door neighbor, the farmer. I called him and told him the woman wanted to speak to him. Upon hearing the altercation, he got up in the middle of the night ran down the street and around the corner. It would have been shorter if there were no fences between all the houses, but there are. The shortcut was not an option. While he was running the tenth of a mile, his wife called the police. I felt grateful to know that he responded that way. It makes me feel safer. Not that I'm expecting to be attacked by an ex-boyfriend. I'm not the type to attract abusers. That type runs for the hills away from me.
Shortly after she left, I took off to do some chores in town. I have to use the gas machine in the car. I didn't charge it after the last trip, so I wouldn't have enough electric charge to make the whole trip. I ran on electric the entire way to town and had electric charge left over. It wasn't until I was on the way home that it finally switched over. The gas gauge never changed. I hope some gas got used.
I made three stops in town. The first was at Office Max to get my SS card laminated. I don't want to have to get another one before I die. The instructions I got when I thought I had to order another one were just much too complicated.
My next stop was at Petco to buy Ear Powder. Judy says using it makes plucking ear hair from dog ears easier. Well, so far, I have had no luck. I've tried the hemoccult. That didn't work; I didn't get a single hair out. Then I tried a tweezer, the kind I use on my ear brows. That didn't work. Her ear looked weird with powder. I couldn't even figure out where the hair was. I grabbed some hair with the hemoccult. OW! Elsa leaped out of my arms and ran for her life.
After that, I headed over to the church graveyard to check out possible gravestones. I have no idea how to design this gravestone and the engraving. I have to get both our names on one stone. There were a few others like that in the graveyard. It wasn't a great selection.
I called Susan at the church to get some idea of the maximum size gravestone I can get. Not that I want it the maximum size, I just want to know what I have to work with.
I stopped off at the Thai restaurant on the way home to pick up some of their vegetable soup. Dinner! I had been watching some pretty down movies Goldfinch and then Inside Llewelyn Davis. Damn, are those two downers. I looked for a comedy. I found Catastrophe. So far, so good. However, it seems like the guy's job is not that secure. Damn, again. Life is causing enough anxiety. I don't need more, thank you anyway.
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