Halloween? / Andrea's Birthday

THIS POST IS A COMBINATION OF "DRAFTS" ON DIFFERENT DAYS

I was in a store yesterday and saw a halloween display, which made my psychic clock spin a little. Only 78 shopping days left before Halloween. Pick a costume before October 1st or be resigned to...a clown costume? I don't know why I should be surprised at such things anymore. There was undoubtedly a time when Christmas decorations didn't go up until December 15th, but at the rate we're going one day you may be able to push a button for whatever holiday you want at any time of year. Or some facsimile thereof.

Well, today was a pretty good day for work. Not atypical, so if you ever wonder what I actually do, today I put in some new drawer slides on a pots and pans drawer beneath a counter that had ceased working (reinforced the frame by putting in a couple braces, installed heavy duty drawer slides. Fixed some cupboard doors that weren't closing properly (with a plane)...Fixed the top of a backyard propane heater (like you see at outdoor parties and restaurant)..removed some old caulk and grout around the kitchen sink and replaced with new material..tried to fix some plantation shutters whose staples had come out and which now flopped about randomly. Didn't have similar staples, and the eye-bolt fix I used another time at another house didn't work, so I will have to get some before I return. Have I bored you silly yet?

Let me add a moment from an atypical day last week, just for laughs. I was descending a ladder at the end of a day, admiring an area on the ceiling I'd fixed and painted, when I stepped on a paint can, knocking it over onto a carpet. In short, a nightmare.
I sopped up as much paint as I could with a towel I'd been using, ran to get my wet/dry vac from the car and a gallon bucket and proceeded to vac, rinse and re-vacuum and re-rinse the area again and again. In the midst of my work the homeowner observed me, but she never lost her cool. I assured her that I used to clean carpets for a living and it would come out just fine. A bit of bravado, but I was able to make good on my promise with the help of a carpet cleaner I have at the house. She said the carpet looked great by the time I finished, but oh, the horror. I had a headache at the time, too. So that's a not so great day.

It is now August 27th, Andrea and Steph's birthday. It's been an okay day, very low key. We had a small party for Steph on Sunday, and that was a little more difficult for me initially, but once things got started, I was fine. There have been some tearful moments in the past week, but I get through. I asked Steph and Harriet if they wanted to get together today, but they did not feel the need, and that was fine. Steph worked, Harriet had other plans.
I opened Andrea's ashes this morning and subsequently sprinkled some on her Dad and Grandmother's graves later in the day. I was looking for the perfect container to do this with and ended up using one of her favorite salt shakers. She had several. Thankfully, the ash was just a fine powder. Now that I am no longer leery of the task I will feel free to take her ashes elsewhere and sprinkle some anywhere appropriate. Steph has asked for some, so I will be happy to share.

Jack is winding down his very active Summer camp schedule with two visits to amusement parks this week and a trip to the ocean. School starts on Monday. He has been very happy with day camp and so am I.
Lately he's been held rapt in the car to and from camp by CD's of The Magic Treehouse stories. I kick myself for not writing down some of the funny things he's said since my last post, some in response to the stories and some not.

I'm going to end it here and add to it later, perhaps.

For now...