Saturday 9: Lady in Red

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

 

1) Is red a color you often wear?  I used to wear it quite a bit, but not so much these days.

 

2) In this song, Chris De Burgh is thrilled to be dancing with the woman he loves. Do you recall what was playing the last time you stepped onto the dance floor?  Unless you count the daily "get up and move" times with the clients at work, I don't even remember when I last danced "for real."

 

3) Chris says he wrote this song about the first time he saw his future wife, who wore a red dress when she came to see his band perform. Tell us about a memorable concert going experience.  That would be when I had VIP tickets to see Toby Keith. Our seats were the middle of the front row and the stage was about 6 inches from my face when I stood up so Toby was right there. Those tickets also came with the chance to meet Toby and get your photo taken with him.

4) Chris' father worked as a diplomat for the United Kingdom. Former US ambassador Robert D. Blackwill believes a diplomat should possess strong writing/speaking skills, meticulous attention to detail, historical knowledge, and stamina. Do you have any of those attributes?  I'd say writing for sure, some historical knowledge, but speaking and attention to detail...not so much.

 

5) Chris' family owns Bargy Castle, a 15th century fortress in County Wexford, Ireland. Bargy Castle has been converted into a hotel. What's the last hotel you stayed in?  I don't remember. If a stay is more than a day or two we usually rent a house.

 

6) Chris is a wine connoisseur who sold a collection of vintage reds for over $500,000. If you suddenly came into $500,000, what would you do with it?  Pay off bills, get any work done on the house that needs done, and put the rest away for retirement.

 

7) In 1986, when this song was popular, singer/actress Lady Gaga was born in Manhattan. Have you been to New York City?  No

 
8) Also in 1986, NHL Hall of Famer Jacques Plante died. Are you a hockey fan?  No, but my mom is a HUGE one.

 

9) Random question – You just slid behind the wheel and are about to embark on a long road trip. Which of these famous Williams would you choose as your navigator: Willie Nelson, Bill Murray, or William, Prince of Wales?  Probably Bill Murray. Willie's rather old and I think I've heard not in the best health these days and I couldn't care less about the royals.

  

Currently

Long time no see. Sorry about that. This time of year is just so busy and this year seems to be busier than ever as we tackle long overdue projects around the house.

We thought we'd found someone to finally take down the big Poplar tree that overhangs the pool. He was a young guy who had posted in a community group on Facebook. I messaged him. He got right back to me and came to the house right away to meet with Tim. We agreed to hire him (no contract) as all the comments on his posts were positive. Then the problems began. 

He put us off for a month. Ok. Things happen. When he finally said he'd come he needed to "talk to his crew to see when they were available." Um, aren't you the boss? But, ok. The day he was to take the tree down he "forgot he had an appointment" at the same time he said they'd be here. Then his guys showed up and he dropped off a trailer and a chainsaw...and left. He wasn't here all day. The two guys on his "crew" turned out to be young guys with zero experience that he'd found on Facebook and hired that morning. They cut the two bottom branches off the tree in 8 hours.

Our daughter was here keeping an eye on things and called both Tim and I. Tim left work early and got home just before me. The kid had finally come back after I messaged him to ask what the heck was going on. The meeting was not good. Tim and our daughter stood their ground with Tim firing him, but they remained calm. The kid, on the other hand, started ranting and yelling and stormed off yelling that he'd see us in court. Our thought? Go ahead, you don't have a leg to stand on.

He immediately blocked me on Facebook and since then we've learned that if you go back a few years there are customers who claim he stole from them while on the job and he was arrested for robbing the gas station just down the hill from us. Our daughter has heard he is bad-mouthing us to all the tree services he knows telling them not to do business with us and saying some pretty awful stuff about her and Tim. Apparently, he's saying he wants to post stuff on Facebook. He claims he knows our daughter from back in the day and is saying some nasty stuff. He's like 8 years younger than her. "Back in the day" he was literally a kid. He's a whack job and a half. We're not doing anything, however, unless we have actual proof of libel.

In the meantime, we've found a real tree service that is supposed to come this week and take the tree down. I don't know how it is where you are, but since Covid, it is impossible to get tree services or contractors to commit and/or show up in our area. Unless you are a huge, big money job they can't be bothered.

On a happier note, West Shore Homes is coming this Saturday to put in our new shower. I can't wait for that. I'm sure they will do a good job and they should...they are not cheap.

Anyway...

Reading... nothing really. I just found the book club book I'd misplaced, but I haven't had time to do much reading. Just a couple of pages here and there.

Watching... Hallmark, Lifetime, and Great American Country Christmas movies are playing in the background most evenings.

Listening... to the furnace run (it's going down to 27 degrees tonight), a dog barking down the street, and my arch nemesis...a rodent in the wall who has so far avoided all attempts to get rid of him. I may have to call a professional in (groaning at that thought after the whole tree thing).

Loving... my handsome kitty, Oliver, has been very affectionate and playful lately.

Thinking... about all I have left to do to get ready for the shower install on Saturday. I have to have the bathroom emptied out and everything removed from the adjoining walls...so one wall of the craft room and probably everything in the wall cabinets on one wall of the kitchen. Thank goodness they promise to be in and out in one day!

Feeling... surprisingly relaxed.

Celebrating... today is our 41st anniversary. We didn't do anything, however. We both had to work and we'd planned to go out for dinner, but Tim had a horrible day at work and didn't get home until 7:00. It's all good, just one of life's ups and downs and we had planned to make a big deal about it this year, anyway.

Then

And now.

Enjoying... that I've finally discovered I enjoy doing crafts.

Grateful... to my daughter and son-in-law for helping me clean out the craft room this past weekend and building the storage cabinet for all of our beading stuff.

Giggling...

Currently

I am...

Sitting here struggling to stay awake for a while longer so I won't find myself awake at 2:00 in the morning. Once my internal clock adjusts to the time change I will be in my glory. I have always loved this time of year when the darkness brings everyone inside, meals are hearty and comforting, lights take on a warm glow in windows making everything cozy.

Reading... still This Tender Land. If I could find it. The last two weeks have been very busy and I haven't had much time to read. None at all this past week to be truthful. I have looked everywhere and have only one place left to look...in the cart we use for craft shows. I took the book with me for down times so it's possible it got thrown in there during the clean up.

Watching... the Hallmark Christmas movies have begun.

Listening... to nothing much. After a week of listening to the consumers at work practice their songs for the Halloween talent show and then the actual talent show, quiet is much appreciated.

Loving... the new porch. It's done and painted except for the floor. It's not the best photo, but you can see it in the picture below.

Thinking... I need to buy a few large storage totes to put the Halloween decorations away in. I've been promising pictures for a while, so here they are.

Child-sized skeletons swinging on the grands' swings.

The pumpkin twins. I gave them to our son-in-law
and said I didn't care what he did with them,
so there they are. Side by side and doing
the same thing. lol

This guy is having a great time and he has a mermaid
to keep him company. He just has to watch out 
for the crocodile swimming just out of frame.
The hand in his mouth tells the tale.

These two have been partying it up luau-style
all month. After some pretty heavy rain storms
and wind their lei's and grass skirts aren't 
looking so fresh, but I don't think they care.

Feeling... ready to move on from Halloween. We have a craft show this weekend, we're having a new shower put in on the 22nd, and then it's Thanksgiving. Whew, it's going to be a busy month!

Celebrating... that Mike, the blind man I took care of (and hope to again), is doing well through his chemo treatments. I finally made it down to see him at the nursing home this weekend and we had a good visit. I helped him make a video that I will show to all his friends at my work tomorrow. He did a great job on it and they will love hearing from him and getting to see him.

Enjoying... the last of this quiet weekend. I didn't have any plans and spent much of the weekend with only myself for company. It was a good time to rest and recharge.

Grateful... for God and work friends who keep me sane when our boss is frustrating all of us.

Giggling...