What I have learned this year

What I have learned this year...

This has been a year of learning for me... I learned that hurricanes are extremely devastating and destructive from first hand experience... I learned that I am strong and resilient and that nothing happens to me if I ask for assistance... I learned how to:  ...crochet potholders...paint a wall...spackle a wall... dig out a plant, plant and cultivate gardens...let myself be vulnerable... climb a ladder- I know that I know how to do this, but I tackled my fear of heights and have painted on a scaffolding and climbed a full house height ladder...
I am learning to speak out for myself and my community and have learned that volunteerism is an amazing thing... I love my new family (Friends of Freeport)  they have empowered and supported me, right there along side my birth family during a very stressful time in my life...

Thank you to any one who has been there and befriended me during this turbulent time...

seeing red...

I am so angry that I am seeing red right now.  My screen door does not fit correctly, I was told to go get a part and I got it.  This morning David told me that he would be here "right after lunch- 130" to fix the door) that time came and went... at 230 I went looking and found him, he said, at that time- I will be there in half an hour... as you can probably guess that time came and went as well, so at 4 pm I went looking for him and he said "can't do it today, I will do it first hing tomorrow"  So- I am supposed to sit here and wait yet again.  

I told him that I understood that he is busy, and that I understand everyone else is important, but that my things are important to me, and that I had sat in the house all afternoon waiting for him.  He then told me that he "didn't have to do anything" for me... I explained my frustration- (I don't know why I bothered) that my floor remains  with an unanswered question- at which time he said "you probably chipped it when you had your furniture delivered"   I despise theses people- they take no responsibility for anything and believe that it is okay to be disrespectful to whomever they talk to ... He told me that he had other things to do and that he had "160 other people to deal with."  And then told me not to yell at him- I told him that I was not yelling, and that he would know it if I was yelling.. so- I wonder if there will be any resolution to ANYTHING here!

another one for the "wow, that was awesome nice" record books

Yesterday Ray went out for a ride and turned on the air conditioner in the car... boom the battery light came on, but the car kept rolling and he came home and we checked it out... the car was starting, no problem but the check battery light remained on... This morning I took the car over to Advanced Auto Parts- they have a battery check and install program.  When I opened the hood to let the person from Advanced check the battery I noticed that one of the belts (which I later found out was the serpentine belt- that connects the battery and the alternator and also the fan for the car heating and cooling system) was missing.  I purchased the belt and then was encouraged to go to Goodyear in Freeport.  "they will take good care of you."  I did that and brought the belt in to the woman in charge of scheduling and order writing, she took the belt and me out to the guys in the repair bays, she told them "this lady is in distress-i am not writing this up, just fix it for her."  I could not thank her enough...the belt that I originally purchased was of course not the correct belt, so I was driven back to advance to exchange it - not once, not twice but three times...
they would not take a penny and repaired the car for me...
Thank you  Advance, and Goodyear
I will continue to pay forward the generosity of Freeporters to my neighbors, friends and family!

good day... bad day- it is not all so black and white...

This morning I had a great experience with one of my fellow volunteers from Friends of Freeport.  I got assistance from Robert Gort to hang my valance and vertical blinds in my living room.  I had the chance to spend some time with Robert's adorable children and occupy them a bit while he worked.  The result is a finished look in my living room, with new blinds, thanks to Ursula- my mother in law, and Robert... that is todays GOOD

Now comes the Not so good...
Since the first time I was asked to provide a "punch list" to contractor one of the items has been replacement or repair of several damaged floor boards- two in the entry way, one in the kitchen.  I shared my concern for the first time even before creating a punch list and have been pestering contractor staff at least once each week to find out if there are extra boards from my floor available as I would really like the damaged ones taken care of.  Today I spoke to someone different and he came and took a look at the floor and then searched the garage where extra flooring has been stored- as you can probably guess, there are no extra pieces of my flooring left.  So, I picked up the phone and called the company that the flooring came from only to find out that the particular flooring that was used in my unit (at my choice) was a discontinued floor- I was never told this, and I like to think that had I known I might have chosen differently.  The sales person from the flooring company is going to search and try to find me a box of the flooring, but as you can imagine I am not feeling very positive about this...

Up ....
Down....
the rollercoaster ride continues

another one for the "you can make this stuff up" file

Door is in, now on to bigger and better- it needs cement under the front to stabilize it- that's okay the building is 30 years old... but here's the kicker
Many of us in the complex have doors that let us pass from the house into the garage, these doors were fire doors and needed replacement after the storm because they were breached, okay... so they are replaced, but knobs and deadbolts were our responsibility to replace if we want to replace them.  I decided I would rather have a single entry key for that door and my front door so I purchased a double knob and double deadbolt set (keyed the same)... Yesterday when the front door was replaced the guys went to place the new knob and the striker (metal piece that goes in the door jamb itself) that comes with the set was too small.  I took a ride to a local hardware store- they don't carry the size I need, so then I took a ride up to Home Depot- they also don't have that part- the person at Home Depot gave me the number for the door manufacturer and I called him- apparently the doors are supposed to come with that part- WHERE did it go?  So I call another person here who is in the construction trades and ask if he is missing that part as well, and he is- so we will have to try and figure out where these parts have disappeared to- the doors wer delivered without them?  VERY strange to me, but certainly possible...
stay tuned for more form the file!

New... garage door, and front door are almost in

So, this week was a fruitful one here at The Anchorage.  We got our garage door replaced- the individual who installed garage doors is like superman- he installed every garage door in the complex- one building per day and really kept to a strict schedule.  I bet he can install a garage door with his eyes closed!

Today my front door is being installed... the guys who are installing wanted to know if I knew that I had damaged floor boards.  Yes, I know that there are several boards that are damaged, they have been reported and have been part of my "punch list"  since I returned home.  I don't know if they will ever complete the repairs that are part of this large job, and the frustration again mounts with each passing day!

I am so happy to be home and want to enjoy all that being here mans for both Ray and I but there are constant little niggling things that seem to get in the way.   I love how I redecorated, love my kitchen cabinets and counters, my couch and dining room sets as well.  This just drags on and on and on...

July 4th

Okay... so here comes Independence Day!
May the Fourth be with you.

Last night we bought a little outdoor table- nice square glass top- from Big Lots- it was a great price and we both liked it.  Came home and put it together- only a bit of a struggle to build it- instructions much better than any piece of IKEA furniture I have ever built.  Target had an ad for chairs- they looked nice, and were the right price as well.  So when I got up too early this morning I decided to take a ride over and check them out and possibly buy four of them....in the ad they had some really great colors, but in the store only tan- which suits the table well. So I bought four.  Next up- getting them into a Toyota Echo- I didn't think there would be any problem with that... WRONG
carried the chairs out to the car and began to attempt to put them into the back seat...NO
in the front seat...NO
in the trunk...NO
there was a really nice couple and the woman told the man to "help that poor girl"
he tried too and the chairs were not going to fit anywhere in the car, then he yelled across the lot to his wife "are we doing anything important for the next 20 minutes?"  her answer "Helping that girl"
They told me they would put the chairs in their vehicle and follow me home- I said that was not necessary but they would have none of that.. They were from Franklin Square, the opposite direction from Freeport, but they insisted and followed me back here with the chairs.
The world can really be an amazingly good place!
Thank you to the kind people in it for helping me keep my rosy glasses on!

Counter top finally here

so, today is the day... the counter top is scheduled for delivery between 10 and 2 with a phone call one hour before the delivery... you know how this ends, right?  I am working with Friends of Freeport on Polk- thank goodness it is less than 5 minutes from home- and I get a call from Ray- the counter top and the installer are at the Anchorage... So I jump into the car and rush home to see it be installed the way that I want it installed...what happened to the call one hour before?  I contacted the company that does the install and they said  "apparently we have the wrong phone number."  I spoke to them YESTERDAY and they took my phone number then... hmm....


Well, the counter is here and looks absolutely awesome... two steps forward!

weekend stuff

My Saturday work, since I am home and able to be in my own space has been filled with PLANTING, and removing plants with the Green Thumb group of Friends of Freeport.  Each weekend we are assigned to help someone- a home owner, the Historical Society- to get the outside of their space looking better than it has- weeding, cutting back, removing dead plants, and then planting and mulching to beautify the area.  This past weekend we helped two families.  One, a huge gardener, had a deck that lifted and moved around in her backyard, so our major work was removing weeds and then mulching the garden in front of the home.  Then we moved on to a home that is owned by an elder state's woman- I think someone said she was 93 years young.  She walks using a walker, and has a stair chair.  To call her adorable does not do her justice... she is spunky and appears to have the flexibility that has allowed her to get through this ordeal with relatively minor hardship- I as sure that it helps that she has wonderful support from her family and accepts help from the community at large (otherwise we could not have been there.)  For her, we began removing the storm impacted shrubs that surround her house- there is still more work to do there and we will return!

Yesterday- Sunday was a family day, but first I had to help... I was heading to the railroad to pick up my mom for a visit, she and my aunt and I were going to spend the afternoon together, when I came upon a small dog that was laying on it's side in the middle of the street- someone had hit it.  That person did not stop- I hope it is because they did not know that they had hit the dog.  I could not just pass by, so I stopped and called for help.  The dog was clearly in big trouble- it's breathing was rapid and shallow, and it was terrified- I was afraid to touch it, for fear of scaring it more.  I stayed with the dog,and, thankfully several others stopped and waited as well, making sure that no more injury came to the dog.  The police arrived and I left- could not be late to the train, so I do not know the end of this story- I pray that the dog is okay- in what ever way that needed to happen...I spent the day hoping that the dog and the family that owned her would be okay!