Saturday ramble

Saturdays. Love them. They are gone so quickly.

We did the errand stuff today. Groceries, got the car washed, lunch out, Tarjay, H.D. It is amazing how the entire day can go by, I’ve been busy the whole time, and it still feels as though nothing really got accomplished.

I spent over an hour on the internet, trying to figure out what part to order for our broken kitchen faucet. I called an old neighbor (who is a plumber) to fix that faucet, install another faucet, and check out another plumbing problem we’ve had. Those things ended up taking most of the morning. At least I have it set up now. He told me to try to order the part online, and he is coming out next week. Best part is, my husband figured it would cost about $1000.00-that is why he’d been delaying doing anything about it. The quote was around $2-300.00. It pays to check rather than assume, as my husband acknowledged to me.

Tomorrow is a baby shower for my son and daughter-in-law. Their good friends are hosting it at a great little restaurant in the city. My mom is going to come, too-she is pretty excited about being invited. It is guys and gals, which surprised my mom. I forget that things were so different for her. She was having kids in the days of  “Mad Men”. No guy would have been caught dead at a baby shower.  Things really have changed-for the better. I found a few basic items, everyday things for a baby that they might not have now that they are on the third. The hosts have suggested putting in a donation toward the vehicle they have to buy in order to carry three car seats.  My son is swallowing hard and buying a mini-van! You know you’ve got a good man when he is willing to drive the dreaded mini-van. Taking one for the team.

All of the relatives who have been vacationing in Florida are returning to the northland these past few days. Too bad. They are coming back to a possible huge storm in just a few days. I am beyond tired of winter, but at least I didn’t have to go from flip-flops to snow boots in just under 3 hours. That would have put me over the edge.

Our little dog has worn himself out today, barking at whatever new wildlife is moving around in the back yard. It appears that the animals are moving around a lot more as the daylight grows. The dog has been going nuts. He runs from window to window, upstairs and down, begs to be let outside, and barks until he is exhausted. I am not exactly sure what he sees or hears. We rarely see anything. There is one little red squirrel who comes right up to the house,though.  I think he enjoys making the dog crazy.  Maybe this is an early sign that spring is coming soon.

When spring does get here, we are in for some major flooding. Snow is piled everywhere. There are 3-4 foot snowbanks along almost every city street. People and snowplows piled it up on the boulevards and along the sides of the streets.  Empty lots have tons of snow stored there, parking lots are ringed by 20 foot piles of snow. When it starts to melt, it is going to be a major problem.  The river here is already high, I think we are in for record levels in some areas.  One positive of a slow move to spring is that it could keep the water at bay if the snow melts slowly.

Our oldest son was very proud of himself today. He replaced his brake pads by himself and saved himself a $300 bill from the repair shop. It seems like there aren’t too many “do it yourself” mechanics around any more. My dad used to do most of the work on our cars. My husband did, too, until we could afford to have it done in a shop. We figured his time and health were more valuable. Our son was able to learn how to do it online, bought the tools he didn’t have, and did it in just a couple of hours. He was never very mechanical as a kid, so it surprises me every time he does something mechanical.  I think it’s kind of cool,too. He was doing the job all by himself, though, so I made him call me when he was done. I didn’t want to worry about him getting hurt and no one would know. I always think of the worst case scenario-so in my mind, I’d pictured a broken jack and him stuck underneath the car. He was a good guy and called.

Saturdays. I love them.

 

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