So the plumbing thing, no not fixed yet .

 So the plumbing thing, no not fixed yet . 

The plumber I had contacted yesterday, Anthony, doesn't normally work on Modular homes.  They are different from a stick build in that the plumbing and heating vents are insulated and then enclosed in a plastic membrane, like a big bag to protect the insulation.  He was willing to do the repair, but had told me that if they had to cut into the plastic, or remove insulation to get to the pipes, that they don't replace / fix any of that. 

So that was problematic , meaning I was going to have to have someone else come in behind him and do that repair, but I didn't really think I had any choices, so the plan was that he would come at 8am today.

 

He called me this morning, right at about 8 when he was supposed to be coming and said he had a couple of emergencies that had popped up but that he had a name for me of somebody who does work on modular homes. And suggested that I call him . 

He was quick to say he would come if I needed him but that he thought this might work better for me because this guy would also take care of any insulation that he had to remove, etc . 

So I wasn't very hopeful when I dialed that guy's number, Chuck, but he answered and said he would come either this afternoon or tomorrow, no problem . He understood my problem immediately, that my fittings are zinc-a-fying because of the Interaction between brass and acidic water, and when I mentioned the plastic membrane under the house and the insulation and all that,  he said "oh yeah I know about that". 

So this guy is probably going to be the much better choice and probably, since my Ryan the plumber is leaving town, going to be my go-to guy for future problems.

So, I'm feeling pretty good about things,  other than no running water in the house, & no shower, but my dollar store water will get me by.  

This house sure has some bad plumbing voodoo.

Update...

Plumber called and he says he'll be here about 10 tomorrow . So that's cool.  Now I know I don't have to wait for him today. 

Always something

 Friday night, I watched 3 girl's basketball games. 

Luck JV with great niece Stella on the court, Varsity Spring Valley with great niece Charli playing and then I kept up on the Luck girls Varsity game too as I've been watching those girls play for several years. 

Stella's team lost by 1 point, but Charli's team got beat by 20.  Both girls played well,  and it was really fun to watch. 

🏀♥️🏀

Today was a bummer.

The DollarStore sells a gallon of water for $1.   It takes 2 to flush a toilet. 

The plumber is coming at 8am. There is a leak, probably under the master bathroom, so I have the well shut off for the night. 

This house has bad plumbing voodoo.

Tomorrow's plumber is not my regular guy, he is not available.  The rate is x1.5 on the weekend. So, I'll get a reality check on what I could have spent on plumbing if I had not had Ryan all these years. 

It will not be pretty.

One step closer

 

👀  👀

I added a new security camera to my setup today, 'Thumper Cam'.

I figured out that I could open the bedroom window & take the screen off, to pour rabbit food out on to the ground under the deck.  

Next time I'll use a scoop to toss it further under the deck.

Now I can see if any Thumpers are out and about.

🐇🐰🐇

I haven't seen the Pileated Woodpecker around for awhile.

He was here today, working on the suet block.

'Woody the Woodpecker'

Cartoonist Walter Lantz used the pileated woodpecker's jaunty crest and loud call as models for his most-famous creation, Woody Woodpecker. ... The pileated woodpecker is our largest woodpecker. The crow-sized bird uses its powerful beak to tear into decayed wood in search of beetle grubs and carpenter ants.

Woody Woodpecker is a cartoon anthropomorphic woodpecker that has appeared in theatrical short films produced by the Walter Lantz Studio and distributed by Universal Studios^[2][3] between 1940 and 1972.^[4]

He was created in 1940 by Lantz and storyboard artist Ben "Bugs" Hardaway, who had previously laid the groundwork for two other screwball characters, Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, at the Warner Bros. cartoon studio in the late 1930s. Woody's character and design evolved over the years, from an insane bird with an unusually garish design to a more refined looking and acting character in the vein of the later Chuck Jones version of Bugs Bunny.^[5] Woody was originally voiced by prolific voice actor Mel Blanc, who was succeeded in the shorts by Danny Webb, Kent Rogers, Ben Hardaway, and, finally, Grace Stafford (wife of Walter Lantz).^[6]

Woody Woodpecker cartoons were first broadcast on television in 1957 under the title The Woody Woodpecker Show, which featured Lantz cartoons bookended by new footage of Woody and live-action footage of Lantz. Lantz produced theatrical cartoons longer than most of his contemporaries, and Woody Woodpecker remained a staple of Universal's release schedule until 1972, when Lantz finally closed down his studio.

The character has been revived since then for special productions and occasions, as well as for The New Woody Woodpecker Show, a Saturday-morning cartoon television series featuring prolific voice actor Billy West as Woody that aired from 1999 to 2002.^[7][8]

Woody has a motion picture star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7000 Hollywood Boulevard. He also made a cameo appearance alongside many other famous cartoon characters in the 1988 film Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

Like Mickey Mouse of The Walt Disney Company and Bugs Bunny of Warner Bros., Woody Woodpecker is the official mascot of Universal Studios. Woody and his friends are also icons at the Universal Studios Theme Parks worldwide, as well as the PortAventura Park in the PortAventura World, Salou, Spain (they were originally brought to the park by Universal Studios, and remain there today despite Universal no longer having a financial stake in the park).

☮☮☮

Buddy

 Last night I happened to check the front door camera as Buddy was exiting the snack shack.  He took his time cleaning up while perched on the front porch.  

He is very good at socially distancing  & washing his paws.

Ups & Downs

Saturday night I took part in another live event on Zoom.  This was another viewing of two episodes of The West Wing with live commentary my TWW cast member Joshua Molina & Hrishikesh Hirway, podcaster / musician.

I am a geeky fan of The West Wing, and the podcast The West Wing Weekly.

About 1,000 of us joined Zoom and then synchronized our TVs to watch the two part Inauguration episode from Season 4 of The West Wing.

 

I had my tablet running the Zoom & The West Wing via HBO on my TV.

It was very entertaining, and the ticket was $5.00 👀

Then,

Sunday,

 I watched Green Bay lose their shot at the 2021 Super Bowl.

And so it goes.

One thing stuck out

 I was asked to be a volunteer reader of applications for the Herb Kohl Scholarship.  During the first round, I read essays by students.  It was amazing, interesting, delightful and fun.

Then a request came for readers for the second round, those applications which had made the cut to the State level.  I agreed to help, but this time I was given applications written by teachers for grant money.  This has been work.  I had to be fully focused on what I was reading, I had to look up several new words, I had to concentrate on the examples given and how the fit with the scoring rubric.  I completed the scoring of 10 applications and I feel like I have been through the wringer.  Well, not really a wringer, but it felt intense.

My take-aways are that teachers care for their students more than I would have really known.  Teaching is much more than a job having to do with educating & testing, and more about caring for and nurturing our youth.  There are so many creative ideas being implemented and more to come, the future of our public education system is bright.  Covid has taken a toll on the system, but teachers have risen to the challenge.  Funding for our schools must be better and equitable.  Using a real estate tax based system may not work in lower income schools.

Last night I was in the meeting for our county Democrats and a couple of candidates for State School Superintendent gave their pitch to the group.  Some of what they said piggy backed on the words I have been reading written by the teachers.  

One thing stuck out.  

Public  Schools take any student, regardless of race, ability, economic status...regardless, 
Public Schools take the student.

We simply must make this a viable part of our society well into the future.

Herb Kohl Educational Foundation

I love that the Bernie Sanders memes are everywhere on the internet,
 thought I might as well add him here too.

52 years ago, another inauguration

January 20, 1969

Lakewood High School band and flag team march in President Richard Nixon’s inaugural parade in Washington D.C., the only band from Colorado selected to march in the parade.

The photo below has the wrong date range, but sure does look like the band I marched in when we traveled to Washington, D.C.  

I was playing the French horn in symphonic band at the time, 
but for marching band I played an alto horn.

 Denver Post Archives

DEC 1976, JAN 10 1977, JAN 12 1977 Lakewood High School (Gen) Band Lakewood High School Band Gets in Shape for Inaugural Parade in Washington The band is working toward a $45,000 goal, raising money to travel to representative, Mike Pearce, band director, said about $37,000 has Washington for the Jan. 20 event, to march in the parade as Colorado's been raised by projects, gifts. Donations may be sent to the school. Credit: Denver Post (Denver Post via Getty Images)

It was quite an experience.  We fund raised thousands of dollars to pay for our trip.  We sold everything.  I mostly remember the hairspray can sized fire extinguishers that I toted from door to door.

We stayed at an older hotel, I don't remember the name.  We were quite sure that we saw prostitutes in the coffee shop of the hotel, and were quite excited about that sighting.

We had been sternly told that we were to keep eyes forward for the whole parade, no looking at the review stand as we passed the President.  Also, we had to keep up.  Anyone not keeping pace would be diverted down a side street out of the parade.  I doubt I played a note during the parade.  I do remember sneaking a peek at the review stands as we marched by on a cold January day.

52 years ago.

Gratitude

 At the beginning of 2020, I started trying to write down something I am grateful for each week.  I put these little reminders in the cookie jar.  

Things got derailed with Covid but I still managed to collect a few thoughts.

I'll try again in 2021, but here is my word list for 2020, incomplete, and in random order.

My independence, good medical care and medicine, fresh cucumbers, tomatoes and red potatoes, fleece pants and shirts, sewing & reading & bridge, good friends, sidewalk spray chalk, zoom & bridgebase app & friends, a good sewing machine, wild birds, comfy clothes, sewing & fabric & ideas, safe house, cozy  house, orioles, Coors pals, hot shower, friends who call often, peonies, USPS, a year of free ice cream, my right to vote, zoom & bridge, free ice cream, family, clean air, zoom, books.

☮☮

One more day

 Celebrating the last full day of the Trump Presidency.  At this time tomorrow, Joe Biden will be our 46th President and Kamala Harris will be Vice President.  It will be a moment of great historical meaning and the nation will breathe a sign of relief.

The Cardinals are here almost everyday, some days they are not as photogenic as yesterday and today.

This one is my favorite of this gallery of photos.
A light snow as falling, he was puffed up against the cold.

13

 Today is the 13th anniversary of my last day at Coors.

I am grateful for my 31 years of employment there & for my continuing pension.

Checking for conversion of the mash, Coors Brewhouse.
~1980

I am so lucky compared to so many others. And I know it.

☮

Aunt Ila Bjornton

 

The news came today that my Aunt Ila had died. 

I had not heard from her at Christmas, I was wondering.  The news is that she had had a minor surgery,  was waiting to go home from rehab,  and suffered a massive heart attack. She was married to my Mom's brother.

The last time I saw her was about a year and a half ago at her 100th birthday party.  She was going strong then. We had a very nice visit that day. 

A small service will be held,  Glenn & Kathy will go.  I will not due to Covid concern.

Some random thoughts about Aunt Ila.

My aunt Ila passed away in January.  She was 91.  Ila was married to my Mom's brother Elwood.  Woody and Ila lived in Bloomington all their lives.  He was the first person I knew that went golfing on most weekends.  They both had good jobs and a nice new home.  I think my Mom was jealous of Ila living in those nice conditions which was especially hard for Mom to swallow because our house on N was such an old, and rustic house.  I remember Mom always dressed us in our best clothes if we were going to their house.  I was never very close to Woody & Ila, they were  quite critical of me that I went with Dad during the divorce and that widened the gap even more.  They did come through Denver a few times over the years and we would try to get together for a meal.  Woody died shortly after I moved here so I was at the funeral.  I attended Ila's 90th birthday party in the summer of 2019 and she acted so pleased to see me that I was very glad that I went. I did not go to her funeral due to Covid concerns, Glenn & Kathy did go, they are less cautious than I am.  As a kid I thought I was such good pals with her kids, my first cousins, but it did not carry through to adulthood, the only contact that I have with those first cousins is when there is a funeral.  So now, there is only my Aunt Jeanne, Mom's sister, left of that generation of the Bjornton family.  

Back to back

 

Maybe the Covid fog isn't as bad as I thought.

 

Genius

Most days I play the New York Times crossword puzzle.  I usually start with the daily mini puzzle, then try the daily big puzzle.  I'm not disciplined enough to never ask for a hint.  I was more of a purist when I did the puzzle on paper, but on the tablet, it's just too easy.  But I usually do okay until Wednesday or Thursday 

when the puzzle difficulty is ramped up.

A third game on the NYT app is Spelling Bee.  I saw on Twitter that Tom Hanks plays that game and posted one day when he 'won', and he was very excited.  I have been trying to do better on that game ever since.  It's easy to give up if I don't get a good start.

The idea is to make as many words as you can from the letters provided and you must always use the letter it is in the middle of the hive.

On Friday, I thought I had a chance, 

and yes, 

now,

 I

 ( along with Tom Hanks) 

am a virtual genius

Life is good.

☮

Something Serious

So much in the news today about unrest in our country; there are people who are convinced that our current government is corrupt.  Not just Trump corrupt, but deep down.  Their plan is to overthrow our government and cause harm to our elected officials who see it differently.

There is plenty to worry about.  The attack on our National Capitol is beyond imagination but by all accounts, a very near miss of what could have been a slaughter.

The Inauguration of Joe Biden can't come fast enough.  Trumps appeal to those citizens who are off track, on the fringes and leaning towards insurrection, is fuel for their conspiracy theories.  But just because he leaves the Whitehouse, that will not be the end of the violence.  

I take comfort in seeing our Capitol teeming with National Guard soldiers, all bearing arms.  It is not right that I should feel good about that, but after seeing the attack, it does make me feel more secure.

In light of these events, historians are reminding us of the Hitler's Reich and the steps taken that elevated him into power.  It is right to take time to learn and consider the similarities.

My Dad & Uncle both fought in WWII.  Uncle Christian was in Europe and fought against Fascism. Dad was in the South Pacific and faced the Japanese.  That war was, in part, about fighting Fascism.

Valdemar Johansen, US Navy Seabee

Uncle Christian Johansen, US Army

This video is just about 7 minutes long.  I believe it is worth the time to watch and then read the Q & A with the Director / Editor Marshall Curry.

“As chilling and disorienting to watch as the most inventive full-length horror movie.” –The New Yorker

“In a scant six minutes of archival footage, director Marshall Curry delivers an emotional wallop.” –NPR

“In the current climate of intolerance, this footage is especially chilling.”
–The New York Times

“A taut, dramatic seven-minute film.” –The Washington Post

“Eerily relevant.” –Rolling Stone

“Strictly remarkable.” –Los Angeles Times

Here is the link to the video:

🠆🠆🠆🠆🠆A NIGHT IN THE GARDEN

All is well, but I had a few moments today

 I woke up this morning at about 4 a.m. to go to the bathroom and thought it felt really cold in the house. So I went down to check the thermostat and it said it was 53 degrees. I could hear the furnace was humming softly but not kicking in. 

So, I turned it off, turned on the gas fireplace, turned on the heater in the master bathroom, turned on the electric mattress pad and crawled back into bed. 

But of course, I couldn't really go back to sleep. I laid there until about 5am and then I thought I might as well get up clean the cat box, put a new filter in the furnace, which was something I was planning to do today anyway, and then take a shower so I could call the furnace repairman at the dot of 7am. 

But. 

When I opened the door to the utility closet, I could see the floor was went under the water heater.  Totally unrelated to the furnace problem, which turned out to be a fried circuit board, there was a leak in a fitting.

Yet another fitting that disintegrated due to the high iron content in my well water.  

Brass just doesn't cut it in this house.

So, I sent a text to my plumber, and he said he could come this morning, 
then I called the furnace repairman, and he said he could come this morning too.

Both were done by about 1pm.  I had spent my entire government 'stimulus' check but everything was working again, and just in time for my 2pm zoom/bridge date.

Barley was chilled during the outage, she found a warm spot behind the big TV which is on top of the gas fireplace.  It was probably pretty toasty back in that corner.

I caught a photo of her when she was coming out to check on the furnace repair progress.

Then, just to add some spice to my day, I dumped a 16 ounce glass of tonic water into the drawer of my chairside table during the bridge game.  So, lots of wet stuff, most of which will go in the trash, but what a mess.

And to top it off, my heart went racing this morning when I first saw the leak in the water heater.  Eventually, I had to take the 'rescue drug' to get things back to normal rhythm and speed.

Good grief.

But, the kitties are warm now and utility closet is drying out.
All is well.

A FB friend sent me this poem tonight, fitting for my day.

I was helping our local economy today.

Additional Home Land Security

 I have had a new camera laying here for quite some time and finally got around to hooking it up today.  Now I have a couple of views of the front door.  I'm not worried about intruders, I'm just nosey about the stray cats & rabbits that are around at night.

Come summer, I can redirect the lower view to the backyard.

I'm thinking the US Capitol needs a few Wyze cams for security purposes.

$20 on Amazon, just sayin'.

Not much else is new here in Rice Lake.  There is not word yet on vaccine for general public.  I am hoping for a shot in the arm sooner than later, but am also happy to wait my turn.

Buddy

 Our little stray cat Buddy stopped by tonight for a snack at Omaha's stray cat snack shop. I happened to see when he arrived and he stuck around for about 15 minutes before he strolled onto his next stop.

I had an appointment with the dishwasher repairman again today.  He called, I got the impression that he did not want to drive all the way to Rice Lake. He remembered my dishwasher once I reminded him about the problem with the ticket last time he was here. So he said he would order a new pump and a few other parts to be shipped to my house and he will return on January 29th. I'm not very optimistic that this will be the final time I have to have him here but we'll see. I'm trying to be very patient about it because getting upset doesn't solve anything. When you live in the boonies it's hard to get service people become and fix things. It's just a fact. If I didn't have this deal with Sears I can't imagine who I would be finding to try to fix this dishwasher, by now I would have probably had to purchase a new one. So we'll see what happens on January 29th. 

At least by then we'll have a new president

Holy Moly

 This year's amaryllis is turning out to be a good one.

Six buds are open, and 2 more are ready.

Seems like I read that if you cut them off and put them in water they last longer.  I might try that.

2020 Travel Trends for 2020 via Google

 I got an email from Google today with my travel update for last year.  Interesting to see it in a graph.

COVID-19 changed the world’s travels in 2020, and how many places people were able to visit. If you were able to travel this year, you can see some of the places you’ve been with the help of this automated Timeline email.

Your 2020 trends

Travel

Driving

4,388 mi (147 hr)

Jan		May					Sep			Dec

Your visits in 2020

24 Cities	80 Places
	18 new

A simpler time

 My 7th birthday in the kitchen of our house on County Trunk N, where I grew up in Luck, Wisconsin.

Since my birthday is right after Christmas, this was no easy feat, to get all these kids together for a party during Christmas break. I don't really remember how often I had birthday parties, more than just this once I know, but I do not think it was an annual event.

It was a simpler time for me, likely my parents were struggling with problems not noticed by a 7 year old little girl.  I know that they had daily financial problems, difficulty paying the phone bill, and our lunch money account at school was often short.

But for a 7 year old girl with some pals to gather up to eat hotdogs for my birthday, 

and a cake with 7 candles, 

life was pretty sweet.

(heavy sigh)

Today was a day of national strife.

I stayed up most of the night last night following the Georgian election results.  I was excited about the potential of the win and it was so close I had a hard time giving it up for the night.  

I think I got about 4 hours of sleep.  

I was in school, 5th grade, in Luck, Wisconsin, when JFK was assassinated and the school wide intercom system came on and it was announced that the President had been shot.

I was in a staff meeting at Coors Brewing Company in Golden, Colorado, when my assistant paged me to tell me that she had heard that planes had hit the towers.

And today, I was here, in Rice Lake, watching the results of the Georgia election, celebrating the victory by one Georgian democratic candidate, and the expected victory of the second.

Then decided I would watch some of the procedure to certify the electoral votes.

I had not been exposed to this process before, I knew there was an expectation of protest by some of the Senators, but I fully expected that the process would proceed in accordance with the Constitution of the United States, even if there were some grandstand speeches along the way.

But then all hell broke loose.  

Trump had rallied his supporters to gather up just down the mall from the US Capitol.

This man, who has nearly destroyed our democracy, just will not give it up, this was a coup attempt.  Those evil criminals, his ardent followers, after he prodded them on today in his rally speech today, violated our capitol and our constitution.  

I'll never understand nor forgive anyone who continues to support him.

I've been watching the delayed congressional proceedings tonight and am part of the time appalled and impressed, depending on who is speaking.  

It is an historic event.

This is not a simpler time.

But we have turned the Senate, we have elected a President and Vice President who plan to lead  with dignity and compassion and who will protect the Constitution of the United States.