Now we wait

 Now that I've spoken to the insurance company and picked a roofing company,  the rest is just a matter of waiting.   The adjustor will come, and the final scope of work will be determined. Nothing is urgent.  Having a sign for a local roofing company in my yard is a deterrent for the traveling, and potentially scamming, gypsy roofers. 

Here are more of the photos from 2023.07.19

This was Verbena, it might recover. 

Nexr to my thumb, most of the hail was this size, some was bigger.

Moon flowers. I am hopeful for these.

Pretty messy

And a little video.

On 2023.07.22, the survivors are starting to show up.

This sunflower, planted by one of squirrels,  took some hard hits and leaf damage.

But, its a survivor,

I hate hail

 Tornado warning, hail and rain rolled through this evening.

I'll post more later, but this says it in a nutshell.

Water, again

 What is it with me and water in this house?

Today was my scheduled day for a filter change by the Culligan Man.  My incoming cold water goes through a micro filter, which collects some of the larger minerals.  Culligan changes this filter every 6 weeks.  It requires valving off the incoming water supply, draining the filter housing,  switch the filter out and replace the inline filter housing.  It only takes a few minutes but offers opportunity for spillage. 

Normally this goes okay. 

When I had my water heater replaced recently,  my plumber went to some effort to clean up the plumbing in the utility closet and to make the valving easier for the Culligan Man.

This morning,  I didn't hear the tech knock on the door, so he left his 'sorry I missed you' note. 

I called the office to reschedule.  

It was my fault.  The Culligan Woman told me that she would see if he could catch me this afternoon.  I said I would leave the door unlocked. 

I left for about 40 minutes for my haircut. 

 When I walked back in the house, my water detection device was putting out a high pitched siren.  I opened the utility closet door & saw water dripping everywhere and the floor of the closet was soaked.  There were swear words said.

It did not take me long to diagnose a bad seal on the filter housing.  I turned off the well pump, valved off the filter and drained the lines by opening a faucet.  Then I started wiping and blotting up water.  

I took time to call the Culligan Woman and tell her that someone needed to come back over here and fix the problem.  By this time it was nearly 4:30pm.  She was very responsive and called me back to tell me a tech was on his way. 

Collin, the fixer, was very quick and concerned.  He immediately found a faulty 'o' ring and got to fixing it.  He mopped up as much water as he could and offered a dehumidifier.   I said I would run a fan,  I thought that was adequate.  

We parted friends and he assured me that he would have a talk with my Culligan Man.  

I'm not sure what would have happened if I would have been gone for the evening, I was planning on going to Luck for Music in the Park.  Or if I did not have that leak detection device in the closet.

So,  once again I got lucky.  

Silly me, recently I had been thinking how nice it has been to NOT  have any plumbing problems for a few months. 

Thank you, Culligan Man, for the reality chevk.

Change is hard

Tuesday evenings, Luck hosts Music in the Park.

I went over to hear the group Danville.  These musicians are personal friends of Aunt Lois and have come to Luck every year for over 20 years.

Imagine a peaceful evening, listening to folk music in the genre of Peter, Paul & Mary, Pete Seeger and the like.

It was fantastic.

A little rain drove many of the listeners away early, but the band kept playing and I thought the rain felt pleasant.

It was a really delightful evening and I was able to greet many friends and see some of my family as well.

🎶🎶🎶🎶

I avoid having to call service providers like the cable TV folks and the cellphone company.  For some reason, on Thursday, I decided to cancel my cable and make the leap to all streaming for TV entertainment.

By skipping all the Spectrum menus of self help, and asking for a 'representative', I was connected to a very knowledgeable and friendly agent.  He helped me get caught up on the technology, and in the end, I kept my cable channel line up via the Spectrum TV App, but will save about $65 / month for the next year.  I have already put a reminder in my calendar for next July to call again and get another better deal.  He advised me to make the call annually.  

So, that was done, yay.

He also tried to interest me in switching my cellphone to a Spectrum plan, promising me a rate of just $29.99 / month for unlimited text, talk & data.  I could not really believe the rate, but said I would consider and call back if I was interested.  As the day went by, I thought, why not.  Laila and I have a family plan so after contacting yet another very friendly and helpful Spectrum agent, who answered all my many questions, I made the switch.  

All in all, those 2 phone calls should save me about $180/month for the next 12 months. I think I'm learning to love making those phone calls.

The change will be a little challenging but good for the brain to learn the new.

I was also told about the FCC's Affordable Connectivity Program.  A person can quickly check to see if they might be eligible for a $30/month reduction of their internet costs.

It is Day Lily time here.  

My lilies are not doing well this year with the drought, but I did catch a photo of the yellow ones that are always the most vibrant and vigorous.

Anders on the Mound

 So, because of a weird glitch in this blog's software ,we start at the end of the game and work our way to the beginning.

Normally, these kids, 14U, play 7 innings.  This was an exciting game, it started out hot & sultry, turned to rain, then a lightning rain delay, and then, in extra innings, a big win! 

It was so much fun to watch. 

Anders made the stretch and the out.  If you look closely, you'll see the ball in his mitt.
It was very close.

Anders was on the mound for most of the game

Anders will be 15 this August, he's one of 3 greats that were born the year I moved to Rice Lake.  He has started to stretch out and is now a tall boy.  I babysat him more than any of the other kids in the family and spent many fun nights at his house.  Those years flew by.

Cousins Reunion

I attended the memorial service for my second cousin's wife, Christine.  Neil and I are the same age and our parents were good friends growing up in West Denmark.  Neil and Chris had been married 50 years.  Neil read this writing of his at her service.  I wanted to save it and found it posted on a webpage https://30secondread.com/

She’s not gone. But you’re alone

BY NEIL HENRIKSEN ON APRIL 23, 2023

Editor’s note: We depart today, for the first time in more than 400 essays, from publishing essays with exactly 180 words. You’ll understand after reading this beautifully tender reflection. It was prompted by the death Friday of the author’s wife, Christine, in Sun City, Arizona. May it help us help those who must help loved ones with dementia.  

https://30secondread.com/dementia/?fbclid=IwAR0dEssxZ-EuXRwfNSDkeMAx6xOuCZ0EOupFUY0leFliMok-xjq_WQW6EAI

Dementia.

It’s like saying Kleenex. Everyone knows what you mean, but so many types.

Dementia begins slowly.

Lost words, minor confusion.

Then it’s a softer and softer voice.

What did you say? I missed that.

Friends don’t call anymore. You’re not invited to the parties.

Slowly, but there, more and more distancing.

Soon, you’re alone, but for the one or two people who understand.

Time and progression.

Balance issues.

Slower and slower walking.

Words, not sentences. Conversation, a thing in memories.

Sleeping more and more.

Loneliness.

Boredom.

Problems eating, drinking and swallowing.

Trouble standing, dressing.

Can’t make a decision.

Makes you wonder how the person with the dementia feels and their perception of the world. Could it be the same as the caregiver?

.     .     .     .     .

After the service and the lunch, I had a good visit with Sister In Law Lois, & cousin Gary, who had traveled to Wisconsin from Iowa for the day.  I asked our cousin Julie to snap a couple of photos of us.  We will call it a Cousins Reunion.

After, I went out to the cemetery to water plants at Dad & Ev's bench, Gary came along and we had a fantastik! visit.  We sat on Dad's bench so long that my butt hurt.  We also walked around to see great grandparents and grandparents.

It was a good day as so often happens when friends and relatives gather to say goodbye, there is a good side effect of renewing our relationships.

Jens on the Mound

 Great nephew Jens is a sports guy.  I was able to get to his baseball game last week.  Due to the wildfires in Canada, it was a smokey evening.  

It was fun to see him play and pitch.  Here are a few photos of him.

Grandma Lois, Great Uncle Harold, Great Aunt Lois, Great Aunt Wanda
Jens' great fans ❤️

Go Cardinals.