Week of Nov. 9, 2014 – Plumbing 101 - Part 2

By Joan Whetzel

 

My garbage disposal recently seized up. It made an awful noise and then it just stopped. I tried everything I could think of and could find on the internet for getting it started. Nothing seemed to work.

So my daughter and I investigated the cost of a new disposal and instructions on how to replace it. In the meantime, I noticed the sink on the garbage disposal side – I have a double sink – was backing up. It backed up fast and furious. The sink on the other side ran just fine.

So I figured I would use some Liquid Plumber to free up the drain before we did anything else. The liquid plumber worked like a charm on the clog. I thought, “what the heck, let’s try the disposal again.” I flicked the wall switch, and whaddayaknow! It’s running fine.

It appears that whatever gummed up the drain also gummed up the garbage disposal. All it took was a couple dollars-worth of drain cleaner. That was the cheapest and easiest plumbing fix we’ve encounter so far. I sure like cheap and easy fixes. Beats the heck out of replacing a disposal – or calling the plumber. (No offense to all those plumbers out there. I'm really glad they're there for the hard jobs that I know are beyond our skills).

Week of October 19, 2001 – Around the World in 80 Days

By Joan Whetzel

I just put down the book “Around the World in 80 Days” by Jules Verne. It has been a long time since I saw the move with David Niven Playing Phileas Fogg, and an even longer time since I read the book.

Jules Verne, as usual, keeps his readers hooked from page one of this novel. Having seen the movie and read the book (once a long time ago) I still found myself wondering how Mr. Fogg got caught up in his adventure around the world, and all of the little side ventures that almost lost him his bet.

The only thing I found different between the book and the movie (SPOILER ALERT!) was that the book did not include the incident with the hot air balloon. I have to say, I missed the hot air balloon. I enjoyed the book as much as the movie. Even with the minor differences. I’ll have to find the movie on DVD so I can watch it again.

Week of October12, 2016 - Plumbing 101

By Joan Whetzel

Life has thrown us a lot of curve balls in the last year and a half. A huge chunk of those curveballs occurred during the summer of 2013. But the curve balls haven’t stopped coming at us. My daughter and I have solved many of the problems ourselves. Others we called for help to make the repairs. Some of our recent repairs have required crash courses in basic plumbing to:

1.      Replace the kitchen faucet and repaired leaky drain pipes under the kitchen counter.

2.      Replace a leaky bathroom faucet.

3.      Replace a leaky shower head and repaired the shower faucet – it no longer leaks.

The leaking shower head was the last thing we fixed. We started out replacing the shower head, which worked for about 2 weeks before the drip returned. The drip slowly increased until it was running steadily – and running up the water bill.

So we took the next step – figuring out which shower faucet we would need. We turned off the water at the meter, and replaced the faucet. Then turned the water back on. And the leak continued. Luckily, we were talking to my niece Catherine and her husband Tyler the next day. They were on their way to the hardware store and volunteered to inquire what else we could try – short of calling a plumber. Tyler came back with the information about a small piece of plumbing hardware inside the faucet sleeve that needed to be replaced.

I grasped the concept of what he was saying, but I needed a visual. So, I went online for a video on “shower faucet leak repairs.” Right there on YouTube was a short (10 minute) video showing exactly what we needed to do. I showed Emily and she agreed this was something we could do ourselves.

So we turned off the water again, removed the newly installed faucet, and pulled out the little piece that needed to be replaced. We took the part to the hardware store and found exactly what we needed. After replacing the piece and re-installing the faucet, we turned the water back on. Guess what? No more leak!!! Yea, us!

 

There are still home repairs to be made. It seems like every time we fix one thing, 2 or 3 more things suddenly need repairs. I’m now looking for a magic prayer that’ll slow them down or bring them to a halt.

Week of September 21, 2013 – Thing to Do While Waiting on the Repair Man - And an End to the Rain

By Joan Whetzel

 

It’s Friday and I’m waiting on s repairman to give me an estimate for some exterior repairs to the back of my house. The wait is worsened by this week’s rains which have made up for our 3 year drought. (Seriously, I’m thinking of investing in Ark supplies.) The company said they’d call before they came for their 2:30 scheduled appointment, but that it would depend on the rain and whether they’d finished with the job(s) they had scheduled before us. It’s not looking like they’ll make it.

Don’t get me wrong. I love a good rain. I especially love rainy nights – great sleeping weather. However, I don’t much enjoy driving to and from work in a driving rain as I’ve done all week. I’d rather be at home snuggled up with a blanket and a good book or some other indoor activity. The rain we’ve had all week has created nightmare traffic, flash flooding, and has slowed pick-up and delivery times for some service industries. Our trash pickup this morning, for instance, was about 4 hours later than usual. Guess those trucks were having trouble getting to and from the dump sites, what with all the flooding.

Once I returned home from my weekly grocery shopping this morning, I got into some warm, dry pajamas before putting up the groceries, I settled into a day of indoor, rainy day activities. I generally find that rainy days are great for getting stuff done around the house because I’m not tempted  to dally around outside in the sunshine. Waiting for the rain to stop as well as waiting for the repair man’s estimation has given me an opportunity to get a few things done today, like:

·         The laundry.

·         Clean the bathroom.

·         Write this blog.

·         Read a couple chapters in “Around the World in 80 Days.”

·         Find out what it takes to fix the leaky shower head.

·         Look up ways to get rid of the mushrooms growing in our yard – the same kind of mushrooms that are growing in all our neighbors’ yards.

·         Vacuum.

·         Do the dishes.

·         Make potato soup and corn bread for supper.

·         Online banking.

·         Going through some clothes and other items to take to Goodwill.

·         Mending clothes.

 While doing these rainy day activities, I have come up with a list of many other things I need to get done. I feel inspired to straighten up a whole bunch of stuff – including ways to cook mushrooms. Does anybody know which kinds of mushrooms are not good to eat?

Week of August 24, 2014 – Guess What! Another Surprise!

By: Joan Whetzel

When my husband died, I was left with a huge set of issues to deal with:

·                     Changing bills to my name

·                     Setting up online accounts for the bills, in my name

·                     Registering his death with IRS and Social Security.

·                     Canceling his driver’s license and voter’s registration

·                     Contacting his company’s HR department to see about his retirement plan, life insurance, pension plan, and his remaining vacation pay – by the way, that’s 4 different departments.

·                     Pay off the house with some of the life insurance, mainly because the mortgage holders wouldn’t deal with anyone but my husband, even after they knew he was dead.

·                     Getting an Estate Identification Number to deal with some of the checks (escrow from the house payments, vacation pay) that were written to his Estate.

·                     Setting up two bank accounts, one for me and one for the Estate.

There were numerous other things that kept getting thrown at me as well. I thought the list of things I needed to overcome would never end. But, somehow, I managed to get all those things done.

Luckily this year, the list is far smaller and a bit easier to manage – clearing out the vines behind the garage, getting a new water heater, replacing a weed-eater with a 12 month warranty (13 months after I bought it), and one more unexpected surprise.

In Saturday’s mail, my late husband got a Jury Summons. That’s right! He’s gets to appear at the Jury Assembly Room on September 24, 2014 and explain why he can’t serve on a Jury. And, no, death is not listed under the “Exemptions” that’ll get you out of Jury Duty. (Apparently, they didn’t take the cancelation of his driver’s license and voter’s registration as a hint.)  

So, Monday morning, I get to prove to one more government agency that he’s no longer with us. I wonder how many forms and documents and phone calls this one will take to prove that he has a legitimate reason for getting off the jury duty roster.

Week of August 10, 2014 – Review of “Two Old Women”

By Joan Whetzel

I recently re-read “Two Old Women” by Velma Wallis.  This little book (135 pages) tells a great Native American tale, based in Alaska, about a tribe facing hard times with little food and a hard winter fast approaching.  It was not unheard of that past generations would find it necessary to leave older tribe members behind when moving on to a new location in search for food. These chosen few were usually in ill health and considered close to death. This time, however, the two old women in question were not in ill health or close to death and were still contributing members of society – for the most part. Their “crime” was that the complained constantly. So the tribal council agreed that they must be left behind, for the good of the tribe, so that the small amount of available food could be stretched to feed the young and healthy members of the tribe.

Needless to say, this comes as quite a shock to the 2 old women and to the rest of the tribe. The tribe is afraid to speak up on behalf of the old women for fear of being left behind with them. They are also ashamed of not speaking up for them. None of them is completely without compassion, though. The tribe leaves them with a fire (the embers of which can be used to build future fires), their tent, the skins needed to use as a toboggan for transporting their meager supplies to a new campsite, a hatchet, and a bundle of babiche (raw moose hide strips that could be used for anything from rabbit traps to sewing hides together).

The old women first decide that they are not going to sit there and wait for death but try to survive on their own. In the process, they remember many of the survival skills they’d learned in their youth but had forgotten over time as the tribe slowly took over most of their jobs. They not only survive, they thrive beyond their wildest dreams.

A year later the tribe returns to the old campsite to find that the women had moved on. They go in search of the women to find that that as the tribe has continued to weaken from the lack of food and threadbare clothing, the old women have become stronger and had put away a large supply of food and clothing made of furs and animal skins. The tribe and the old women must work out a plan to reconcile their differences and work together again.

I loved this story the first time I read it. I love it even more now. It’s a reminder that when things get really tough that we all have choices.  We can pick up some new skills and resurrect some old skills, whatever it takes, as long as we keep on trying.

Week of August 3, 2014 – Doing Normal

By Joan Whetzel

My brother and I met for lunch the other day. We had an interesting conversation. He asked me if I had had trouble with the “anniversaries” since my husband’s death. He wanted to know how I had handled them.

When he first died, I had a lot of trouble sleeping because I was worried about everything and overwhelmed by all the things I had to take care of. Since I couldn’t sleep, I would get up and clean house, box up stuff I was giving away, collect items to be sold in garage sales… anything use the nervous energy and keep the demons at bay. It’s amazing how the mundane things in life – the “doing normal” seemed to help me deal with the hard times I was going through. 

So when my brother asked me about the anniversaries, I told him that I had indeed had difficulties, especially with the last 2 weeks of May – the time when my husband had his stroke, spent time in the ICU before dying in the hospice care, and the funeral. During the last 2 weeks of May this year, I found I didn’t want to get out of bed. I just wanted to stay there and pull the covers over my head. When he asked how I dealt with it, my answer again was that I needed to “do normal.” I needed the paycheck, so I got up and went to work.

He responded by telling how a friend of his related how immediately after Christ died, the apostles went back to fishing. Yes, they were devastated by their loss, and like me, they probably didn’t want to get out of bed, but they got up anyway and did something normal because it helped them deal with the loss in a constructive way.  

During the hard times, “doing normal” provides some sense of control.in the midst of the emotional turmoil. It becomes an anchor that ground us in real life so that the emotions don’t take over. It also becomes a place of strength (the strength to keep doing the things that need doing, even if they’re only small things) and a place of safety (we have a safe and normal place from which to move out into the world). “Doing normal” provides a way to keep on living, to keep on getting out of bed and putting one foot in front of the other.

Week of July 13, 2014 - MENTAL DEBRIS CLOGS FREEWAY

By Joan Whetzel

 

A number of years ago, I was driving – running errands – and listening to the radio. Well, I wasn’t really listening, I really just had it on for noise. During my half-way listening, the news came on. One of the reports was about metal debris flying off the back of a dump truck, leaving a freeway full of cars, trucks, police and fire emergency vehicles stranded with flat tires galore.  Of course, in my half-listening state, I what the news reporter said and what I heard were two different things. Instead of “metal debris” I heard “mental debris” which snapped me out of my stupor to listen to the rest of the story. I was a little disappointed to hear that it was just a simple case of tire-flattening metal shrapnel – although, I was quite sorry for all the people who were left stranded with 2 or more flat tires, not enough spares, and no way to get off the freeway. I was also glad that I was not one of the people who fell victim to this dump-truck driver’s folly.

However, it got me to thinking – and laughing – about all the possible outcomes of the “mental debris” scenario. What kind of mental debris would wreak as much havoc as that metal debris?

Among the possible scenarios I could imagine:

• A teenage girl, driving down the highway at 75mph, chatting on her cell phone. Her thoughts spewed out of her brain faster than the speed of sound, splattered out of her mouth and onto the freeway, leaving oily, brain-fuel puddles in her wake.

• The lady in the car following the teenager swerves to avoid an accident with an 18-wheeler in the next lane and skids to a stop on the shoulder, but not before scraping the passenger side of her car against the metal guardrail. The elderly female driver contributes to the teenager’s mental debris when, upon assessing the damage to her car and pondering her near miss, she lost her marbles all over the freeway.

• Another motorist then runs over the mental marbles and teenager’s thought slicks, loses control of his pick-up in a bizarre, cartoon-like fashion, and smashes into the HOV lane's concrete barrier. The driver, after vacating his vehicle and inspecting the damage to his decimated Dodge, promptly blows up in an exaggerated case of road rage. His jagged, mind shrapnel flows out onto the freeway, shredding tires left and right. Trucks and cars careen into each other until they become one huge mass of crushed steel and rubber.

Which then led me to wonder who police and firefighters would clean up such a mess? I guess they’d need to call out the HazMat unit so that all of that mental debris wouldn’t contaminate the ground water. With that much mental waste all over the freeway, they’d have to scrape it up and seal it in huge vats labeled “Warning! Hazardous Medical Waste” and send it off to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta to determine the degree of risk to local residents.

And what would the drivers be charged with (the ones who left their mental debris all over the freeway)? They’d be charged with reckless driving and endangering the public welfare. Of course, since they had left much of their mental-ness all over the freeway they may not be competent to stand trial since, as some might describe it, their engines were running but nobody was behind the wheel. Then of course, the CDC would have to try and figure out if they could separate the mental debris and return it to the rightful owners. On the other hand, if the mental debris caused this much damage to begin with, do we really want it returned to the rightful owners?

Week of July 8, 2014 - Making Lists

By Joan Whetzel

 

I have made lists for as long as I can remember. It’s a habit I picked up from my dad, who made lists for every task imaginable, whether small or large. Every summer vacation, every move to a new house, even weekend chores had a list made up in advance. And, as each item on the list was accomplished, it was checked off. Actually, moving required several lists: 1. Packing, 2. Unpacking, 3. Everything going onto and off of the moving van, 4. Items being loaded into the car at the beginning of the trip, and out of the car at each hotel, back on the car for the next day’s travel, and finally into the new house at the other end, 5. Travel itinerary (included meals, hotels, gasoline stops, and bathroom breaks).

There are some advantages to making lists. First, it breaks each job down into smaller, more manageable increments. Second, as you mark off items from the list, you get that sense of accomplishment as you see the list getting smaller and the end result looking more attainable.

Some of the ways I have used lists include:

1.      Writing: I break each story or paper down by subtopics, then by the time I need to finish the research, the writing, the editing time, and the due date for completed article or paper.

2.      College: I went to college late and had a hard time getting back into the swing of going to school. The work load at the beginning of each semester seemed overwhelming until I broke down each class’s syllabus and determined when every reading and writing assignment was due, when each test would be taken, and set up weekly schedule to complete the tasks.

3.      Setting Up My New Life: After my husband died, I was left with a lot of things that I needed to accomplish, like changing all the bills into my name (including billing and online bill paying), getting his death certificate and other documents that I would need to legally do the bills and other things I needed to accomplish, get his life insurance, get his pension payments, get the remainder of his vacation pay, pay off the house note, pay off the community association dues, pay the property taxes, take care of the income taxes (mine and the “Estate of Mark” taxes – yes 2 returns this year), clear out a lot of his stuff, make home repairs, set up a mowing and yard work routine, and get a job. Well, I’m still looking for the full time job, but the part time minimum wage job is a step in the right direction. The lists helped me break down each task into a set of steps. And as each item on that ever evolving list was checked off, I began to feel a sense of accomplishment I cannot even begin to describe.

It’s been a journey, but I have found that list making has made it a little bit saner. While the “Setting Up My New Life” list is still evolving, that list has grown considerably smaller and the tasks seem more manageable. Who’d have thunk it?

Week of June 5, 2014 - Father's Day

By Joan Whetzel

It's the 2nd Father's Day since my husband's death and the first since my dad died. Since my son is working on Father's Day, we won't be celebrating with him either. It feels really weird this year. Truth be told, I almost forgot about it, until somebody said something about it. I had to stop and ask when it was. Oh! It's this weekend?

What would we be doing if we had someone to celebrate it with?

1. Go to a movie.

2. Take one of them out to dinner - or lunch.

3. Buy a gift.

4. Breakfast in bed.

5. Let my husband sleep in late.

6. Call my son or my dad, and any other men in my life and wish them a happy Father's Day.

Well I can still call my son. As far as the other things, well, I think my daughter and I will do a few of those things in their honor - like sleeping in late and going to a movie.

Week of June 8, 2014 - Widows Must Be Rich

By Joan Whetzel

My mother and I  were talking the other day about things that have happened since we both became widows. It seems like we are suddenly inundated with things that need repairing or need our attention - and our finances. We have come to the conclusion that the fates have decided that we must be rich widows.

This week I am having to fix a failed water heater and a hole in some ceiling sheet rock (accidentally stepped through by my daughter when trying to figure out what was wrong with the water heater in the attic). I am also needing to do repairs to the siding and soffits on the back of my house. Also it looks like my downstairs air conditioning is having problems - AGAIN!. I just fixed the (bleep) thing last summer.

Add to that, my desktop computer. Internet Explorer started sending me to random websites instead of the ones I'd selected. Then my internet security program went haywire, flagging everything in sight as being corrupted and infected with a Trojan horse. Finally, Internet Explorer quit working altogether - on this computer only. I ran a diagnostic but it couldn't find anything wrong and suggested I contact my internet provider or my network administrator. Well, I can still get internet through Mozilla Firefox on this computer, and Internet Explorer is working fine on the other two computers in my house so I doubt the internet provider is going to help much. And as far as my network provider is concerned, well, he (my husband) died last year.

It was suggested I might want to try reinstalling Microsoft Windows on my desk top, even though everything else on my computer is working just fine. Windows was installed at the factory and if my husband had any backup disks for re-installing Windows, I have never found where he hid them. So I can either dip into my vast "widow wealth" and buy a new desktop or I can make do with Firefox.

For now, this "rich widow" opts for the Firefox option.

Week of ay 18, 2001 - Review of "The Complete Father Brown Stories"

By Joan Whetzel

"The Complete Father Brown Stories" by G.K Chesterton is a series of short stories and novelettes featuring a decidedly non-traditional British sleuth. Father Brown, a Catholic Priest, successfully solves murders for the police, thanks in no small part to his innocent demeanor and his congenial nature. He's someone that everyone trusts - especially the perpetrator.

 
The stories are  written in chapter form and narrated by one of the main characters, usually a police officer. They take place around the turn of the 20th century, which means the technology for solving the crimes is minimal, so Father Brown has to use his brains, his wits, and his innocent nature to help the police.

The BBC produced a "Father Brown" series for public broadcast. The series can be seen from time to time on most local PBS stations. I recently ran across the series playing an Saturday evenings around 6PM. They run about an hour, making them short enough for the "Mystery Theater" show. I believe the series can also be purchased on DVD.

If you haven't seen the shows or read the stories, they are well worth your time, especially if you love shorter stories from time to time, like I do. The TV shows are also nice because, while they make a nice series based on the Father Brown character, each episode is unique. The stories create a series of short, made-for-TV filmettes. And if you're not ready to commit to buying any "Father Brown" books without knowing whether you'd like the genre, then check out the local library. Most major Libraries are likely to carry at least 1 or 2 of the books.

Week of May11, 2014 - Happy Mother's Day.

Sorry, no blog this week. I'm celebrating my status as a mom and grandma.

Week of May 4, 2014 - Review of "The Stargazey" by Martha Grimes

By Joan Whetzel

I read the Richard Jury series of books by Martha Grimes quite a few years back and loved them. Richard Jury is a Detective for the New Scotland Yard who is frequently called in by local police to help solve crimes.

"The Stargazey" - named for a London pub by the same name - begins with Mr. Jury being intrigued by a woman. The woman is well dressed and wearing a sable fur coat. She gets on the same bus as Jury, gets off a few blocks later, gets back on the bus, then finally gets off near an Abbey. Jury, intrigued, follows her to the gates of the Abbey grounds. She enters the grounds, but Jury holds back. The next morning he hears of a woman who was found dead on the Abbey grounds, wearing a sable fur coat. He has no choice but to engage himself in the investigation. Imagine his surprise when he finds out that the woman wearing the sable coat is not the same woman he saw wearing it the evening before.

Like all of Martha Grimes's mystery novels,  "The Stargazey" is a great British whodunit, following the detective/mystery plot progression set forth by other British authors .Like I said, I loved these books when I first read them. However, I think my tastes must be changing, because I found the book moved too slowly for me now. Yeah it started out catching the reader - me - right off the bat. But then it took her several chapters (seemed like the whole first half of the book) to get the investigation going. I had a really hard time staying focused. It may just be my changing taste in reading material, though. So don't take this negative from my pen to your ears as gospel truth. Give it a read and decide for yourself.

Week of April 27, 2014 - The Stages of Stress

By Joan Whetzel

 

 

Some time ago a wrote an article on the stages of stress, not realizing that I would be going through these stages myself. Well, it wasn't fun, but I can honestly say I think I came out the other side a lot stronger person.

 

 

Alarm
My alarm stage came when I found my husband laying on the living room floor. He wasn't responding appropriately to my questions and urging to wake up and come to bed. I knew something was wrong when I realized he wasn't moving the left side of his body and was laying in his own vomit. The alarm didn't go away for several days as he went to surgery twice to have the blood drained off his brain, and had other procedures to try and reduce the swelling in his brain and drain the spinal fluid, all the while watching his condition deteriorate to the point where it was quite evident that he was not going to pull out of this, and we were going to have to let him go. For weeks after his death the alarm continued as I tried to figure out where the money to continue living was going to come from, and how to take care of the bills, and what I needed to do to clear out a handful of major debts. For me, this was a period of sleeping  about 2.5 to 3 hours at night, not being able to eat, and going into clean-freak overdrive just to deal with the stress.

Resistance

I went into resistance sporadically, sometimes in overdrive energy. Other days, not being able to do anything. Feeling stuck, depressed, and fatigued from the lack of sleep and food. There seemed to be no end in sight for the things I needed to get done - and the need to get a job - but things weren't getting done as fast as I thought they should.

 

Exhaustion
As things started getting done, I finally started feeling the exhaustion from running on adrenaline for so long. I had become a stress and adrenaline junky. I think the energy from the stress and adrenaline were a good thing because I wouldn't have gotten so many things done without them. But they were starting to wear me out.

 

Well things aren't perfect. Nor are they exactly where I'd like them to be. But I've accomplished about 75% of everything I needed - and wanted - to accomplish in the 11 months since that night I had to get my husband to the hospital. Yeah, there's still lots to do (including getting a full time job to replace my current part time job), but the sense of urgency has decreased. I can eat again (a problem now since I've become a comfort food addict) and I can now sleep about 6 hours at night. The stress levels have decreased to a tolerable level.. I think I'll get through the rest of those things I still need to take care of in one piece.

Week of April 20, 2014 - Commerce, Trade, International Organizations, and Policing Agency Websites

By Joan Whetzel

Some of my writing research has led me to government and international organization websites, all of which have boatloads of info that can be used for background on a story or article. They can also be used for school projects and homework.

US Department of Commerce

http://www.commerce.gov/
Information on trade, commerce and the economy, from the US standpoint.

International Trade Administration

http://trade.gov/
Trade, commerce and the economy from an international standpoint.

World Trade Organization (WTO)

http://www.wto.org/
An organization of countries that regulates international trade and commerce.

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/index.htm
World politics and military alliance. 

United Nations (UN)

http://www.un.org/en/
An humanitarian organization that fights for human rights.

Interpol

http://www.interpol.int/
International policing agency that investigates crime on an international level.

CIA

https://www.cia.gov/
Performs international investigates, intelligence, and security for the US.

FBI

http://www.fbi.gov/
The FBI operates on an national level investigating crimes and gathering intelligence within US borders.
 
Department of Homeland Security
http://www.dhs.gov/index.shtm
Everything you ever wanted to know about national security, keeping our borders safe.

45. Wikileaks

http://wikileaks.org/
Wikileaks, arguably,  acts like a media version of a policing agency, aiming to keep the government in check, to keep the government from overstepping its boundaries, and to keep freedom of the press alive, even if it means reporting on things that the government doesn't want the general public to know about.