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I hate fireworks. We have a neighbor who is an ex military and he is always inventing stuff to see how loud he can get it up here...he currently has something that sounds like a cannon...the entire house rattles when he sets it off.....This is an older neighborhood so most everyone, except them, are elderly...go figure...once again...as long as it is what they want I guess no one else matters..
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Failure today - I lost my temper with dad.

Accomplishment - made breakfast, unclogged the kitchen sink (took me several hours trying different methods), did 3 loads of laundry, cleaned the kitchen sink (better do it now before it becomes a forest of black mold) and finally cooked dinner. Ahem.. I hate cooking So for me to do real cooking is a shocker. I'm more into eating microwave food or take outs.
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However, that microwavable pizza has been calling my name all day. I might give in to it later tonight.
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Hope~we have a neighbor who live behind us that has set off fireworks every night from April-November. Last year, several of us starting calling the police as we were tired of it. It was not just a few fireworks, he/she set them off for up to 30 minutes at a time starting around 9:30pm. Then he/she would start again at 7:30am. Now, after calling the police, he/she only does it once in a great while. I wonder where they get the money to support all these fireworks.
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Gave dad a shower after 2 months of no shower due to extremely dysfunctional family situation.. This is a big step.
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Oh I know! I could not afford it....I have called police before as well. I am trying not to be one of "those" neighbors who fusses about everything so for the most part I just grin and bear it but right after I moved back, I had brought my cats with me of course and they were not used to all that kind of noise. The 4th of July fireworks spooked one of my beloved babies to the point that she ran off and I can only assume into the hills that are a couple of blocks away from our home...she did not come back and late that night I could hear the coyotes destroying something...and I always feared it was my precious cat.....it broke my heart...I don't have children and have always been an avid animal rescuer...it broke my heart and that neighbor was the cause of her running away and her subsequent demise...I don't guess I'll ever like him again after that.... :( It is not against the city ordinance to fire them, but the time I did call I asked them, I understand they are ok in city limits but what about cannons...they checked that out ... lol......

One of my accomplishments today, which also belongs in the what's for dinner thread....after I boldly finished mowing the yard, knowing my nephew was popping in in a few minutes, (that was huge for me..the old me would have promptly left the mower where it stood, ran into the house, baked a bunch of cookies gotten a bath and lit some candles....) I mowed my yard...had not bathed, had nothing in the pantry because I didn't know they were coming and I didn't care...it was a whole lot less stressful let me tell you...I'm going to do that more from now on...after they left, I got me a good hot bath and ordered whatever I wanted in the realm of the pizza and pasta world and treated myself....I will be having to work it off this week but who cares....it was a much deserved treat and I was too tired to cook so I'm kind of proud of me....
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POSITIVES FOR TODAY ...SO FAR.... It's going to be a good day....I'm going to stay focused on that topic. got the major lawn work done yesterday, so today is gong to be about baking something tasty for tomorrow...I have INVITED company!!!! I'm also going to jazz up the deck with my patio lights and make it fun for us....nothing fancy, it won't be anyone but Mama, me and my cousin, but so what...we're celebrating amongst ourselves...she is alone, we are alone, together we will not be alone.... :) going to see if I can make some more fun somewhere around here.....
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I want to take a moment and wish everyone a Happy Memorial Day tomorrow - I hope you find time to enjoy a few moments during the day, maybe have a cookout with family, or just find a peaceful place for a bit. And a huge THANK YOU to those who have served our country, past, present and future.

Accomplishments for Today:
-Took Mom out to breakfast with the family
-Stopped at a local antique shop and - SCORE!! - found a replacement for my favorite mug that I broke a while ago (a Robinson Ransbottom Blue Spongeware mug). Also picked up a cute wicker stand for the bathroom and a lighthouse picture, also for the bathroom.
-Invoiced my clients last night and was very pleased to see my hard work paying off in the form of some extra money coming in. Very nice to see that.

Failure - at least until I fix the problem:
-Didn't get Dad's room tackled yesterday like I wanted to. It's just so hard to go in there and handle his things. Such hard memories. I'm going to try again tonight or tomorrow. Need to get it done soon.
-Came home from breakfast to find the front door wide open (screen door shut, but inside door open). I had trusted mom to close it on her way out behind me -even asked her to- but she insists I told her I would close it. Umm...nope. Just one more thing to remember NOT to let her do.
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success: I made it to my meditation group at last. Had a great time and volunteered taping the event. Meanwhile, my mother went off with a new friend to her family outing. No failures today!
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Hey Hope - I'll see your fireworks and raise you a neighbor deep in the throes of a midlife crisis with a "hot rod" in his garage, which he insists on starting up every weekend, several times a day, and revving the engine so loud that the windows in every house around him rattle - including ours. I want so badly to pour sugar in his gas tank.....
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Susan..aren't those yahoos something?? I guess I must just be boring but I knew from the time I was ten years old that my rights ended where they infringed on others....where I used to live, there was a kid across the pond who loved shooting fireworks..now his were not the earth rattling kind thank goodness, but he would start the week before every holiday and at dusk he would be out there, it seemed they were synchronized to go off one every three minutes...just one..like a black cat...pow pow pow pow pow pow this went on all through the night. my nerves would be in tatters..just the repetitive nature of it all....ugh...my parents would have tore my behind up...
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Susan, just had to tell you your last post conjured an Image in my head of a totally frazzled woman dressed in camo with mascara smeared over her face and a bag of sugar stuffed inside a fanny pack at her waist, attempting to break into her neighbor's garage in the middle of the night......heehee! It's funny cuz it's entirely possible.
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Accomplishment. Got the groceries bought, put away, kitchen cleaned and cake baked...yay! I am going to have a guest tomorrow and we are going to sit on the deck and chat and drink coffee and include Mom as much as she is able and for this day we are going to be like everyone else.
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im too tired to wiggle tonight . beat jiimy up all day . new heater blower motor , reinstalled my windshield cowl , cut a couple bad places out of the passenger door and pur steel back in it , put some screws in the door panels so they wouldnt rattle , truck is getting nice , i want to take alison to the alice cooper concert with a credible machine. chicaggy is a good distance , the truck needs to be in top shape ..
its done just in time to start firewood cutting tomorrow . it dont pay big but it beats the h*ll out of bricking a house . just not interested..
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Susan are you sure it's not the Capt living next door to you?
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ROFL yaya! That would be just about it. It's ENTIRELY possible. He drives me insane, and the good ol' boys at the police station downtown won't do anything about it. (I haven't called, but other neighbors have, and were told to just ignore it, it's only a few months a year, blah blah blah).

Veronica, it might not be Capt, but maybe a cousin. LOL

I have a major accomplishment to announce:

....wait for it.....

I FOUND THE WILL! Finally! It was in the top drawer of the file cabinet, which contained all of Dad's old watches (all in various states of disrepair, scratched up, etc), several empty Preparation H wipes containers (huh?!?), an empty old teabag box (huh again?!!?) and various other containers that I guess he was saving for some purpose or other. The will was in an envelope, laying flat against the bottom of the drawer. Would have never guessed it was in that drawer with all that junk. Go figure! Now I just need to find their marriage license.
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This reminds me of the fortress of baby-wipe plastic boxes my father constructed around his chair. I thought they must be full of tools and treasures he was storing about him. When he died, I tackled the fortress. Mostly empty, with a few trinkets in a couple of the boxes. Don't ask me why. Old folks can be so strange in the nonsensical things they do.

Today I am tackling a clutter strong point on the enclosed back porch. It is psychologically pretty traumatic. Nasty, nasty. In four years I haven't had the stomach to tackle it. It is guarded by a non-functioning heavy power chair that my mother bought and never used. It is flanked by a heavy steel ramp to be used with the power chair. Maybe I should find a way to put the power chair out by the non-functioning power scooter that they bought and never used. Both probably just need batteries, but that would be about $500 -- a waste of money for things that are not used. I tried to donate the chair while it was working well, but my mother said no, no. Now it is just another albatross I'm having to deal with. I can't budge it, it's so heavy.
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Jessie, my dad was a "savor" from the day he was born. And if you got rid of something, he'd be livid. But I have to say, he usually found a use for everything he saved. Old prescription pill bottles became containers for fish hooks, sinkers and other small fishing gear in his tacklebox. Glass baby food jars, mayonnaise jars (any glass container with a lid, really) became storage for his garge - nuts, bolts, nails, screws, brads, fasteners of all kinds went into those jars, neatly labeled with permanent marker and stored on shelves or attached to the metal strips he put on the garage ceiling. (Those are still there - looks like some kind of strange fruit harvest hanging from the ceiling!) Any box, container or anything with a lid was repurposed. He would even save old plastic juice bottles when emptied and put trash inside them and THEN throw them away when full. LOL

I'm with you on the trauma of the cleanout, Jessie. Going through all these things is so hard. I'm finding things I'd totally forgotten ever existed. Each new find hurts anew.
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My main trauma is not the memories. It is the nastiness and disgust that comes with it. The house was neglected for 50 years and I tackle one project at a time. This is one that I kept putting off, because it was so awful. Behind the mountain of clutter I found mildew covered paneling and a chewed chipmunk hole. There was a bed of ants in the window that hadn't been opened in forever. Now I'm figuring out how to get the battery out of the power chair. Maybe I can move it a bit if I got the battery out. I had been charging the battery for 4 years, but it finally gave a couple of months back. I don't want to leave it in there, but I can't figure out how to get it out. :-(
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What I think is so sad is all the rusted tools. Expensive tools just left to rust away.
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Jessie - Find the chair's manual, or look online using the chair's manufacturer name to see if you can find a manual. Many power chairs and scooters have what's called a "free wheeling" mode, which is essentially like putting it in neutral so it can roll freely. Mom's scooter has a lever under the back near the axle.

Dad's tools have definitely seen better days. If I can ever get all my siblings together, we're going to do a garage cleanout and everyone can take what they want - the rest will go in a garage sale. I think he has 3 of everything out there. LOL
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For all you people looking for things: When my father dropped dead, I sat down in his chair by his desk. I knew once he sat, he didn't get up. So I figured everything had to be within arm's reach of that chair. I was correct. The Will, the Checkbook, the title to the plot, everything was reachable without getting out of that chair.
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Susan, if he has any Snap-On tools, they are worth a lot. The brand is collected, so people will pay good money for them. I would put them on eBay.

I'm so proud of myself. I cleaned the area and even washed the windows and sills. What a mess they were. I still have to tend to the things that have to be cleaned up and donated. One irritating thing is that I found enough extension cords to wrap around the house 2-3 times. Why did anyone buy that many cords? They are mostly the thick orange types -- very nice, but enough's enough. I'll have to figure how much we need and donate the rest.
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Susan, I found the manual and then the levers that took the brake off. It also showed how to remove the batteries. I learned when doing it that I would first have to take the seat off. I wasn't emotionally ready to take on that task, so the chair is just setting there with its dead batteries in. So many albatrosses and so little life left.
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Jessie - I'm glad you found the manual! I should have mentioned the seat - many of them require you to take the seat off to access the batteries and/or any other mechanical parts. Hope you can get it out of there soon.
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Oh, and Jessie - * be careful* when taking the seat off. I almost knocked myself flat on my butt when I did Mom's.
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back to cutting firewood. why wont i die ??
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Cap'n you are here because "God won't take you and the Devil won't have you" and I don't remember which grandmother said that.
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Jessie put an ad in the paper for the chair and scooter. They are much sought after and someone will fix it up for their granny as they are so expensive to buy.
Depending on how many tools there are have a tool sale and you will attract every man within a 100 miles. Rusty or not they are worth good money. You only need to do a couple of hours they will be lined up before you start. just throw them in boxes and label the box with the price. they will haggle anyway.
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This was yesterday's accomplishment, but I'm still enjoying it. I got my super short summer hair cut and every time I see me in the mirror I am both shocked and pleased. I look frigging adorable. LOL!
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