Squirrel Battle

Apparently, squirrels and I are destined to fight for the rest of our lives. I've been hearing one in the ceiling over our mudroom. My oldest actually caught the critter coming out from under the eave. I'm not sure who scared who the most....the oldest or the squirrel. The oldest said he scared the squirrel so much that the squirrel jumped right into the wall and fell dazed to the ground. My oldest said he nearly wet his pants. You figure out who scared whom the most.

I find some wood in the garage and put it up as a facia board to block the opening. Problem is that it's not quite wide enough and of course, because this is an older house, the eave isn't straight across so there are some dips and curves. I decide to use the expanding foam to cover those holes. I figure the squirrel won't chew through it.

Holy cow, I was wrong. My SO went outside and there the squirrel was, taking bites out of that foam and spitting it on the ground. She hissed at it and the squirrel scurried up on the roof then hurled squirrel profanity down at her. So there's my partner standing ankle deep in the expanding foam "popcorn" that the squirrel has seen fit to spit on the ground and there is the squirrel now pressed flat on a tree limb above the driveway shooting the evil eye down at my partner.

There's something wrong with this house.

It now has a strip of metal flashing across the eave. Let's hope I didn't trap the squirrel in. Or isolate babies. That would really fuck my karma up.

Oh....

For all practical purposes, we've finished the sunroom. We put up the last piece of crown moulding this weekend. Final coats of paint and moved the furniture in. Whew. All that's left are the curtains and a new futon cover. Took longer than we thought but it's been worth it. Another successful make-over.

Elephant Painting

Tell me this isn't a display of intelligence and self-awareness. And we're killing them at an alarming rate. I wonder who the civilized one is now.

Civil Rights progress

There's an interesting thread over at another forum in which I'm an active participant. There was a news story about a high school student who shot another student because he wore a dress and make-up to school. One poster there believes that the cross-dressing student brought his murder upon himself because of what he wore. It's created good conversation.

The comment was also made that the sanitation strike was 40 years ago and that we've only made it this far in race relations. I believe we've made enough progress that most people are upset over this type of
behavior. Yes, there are a few Neanderthal out there who believe that
what we wear justifies us getting the crap beaten out of us or worse,
killed.

That we have many on that board who have effectively
shouted down those who believe the above statement tells me that we
have made progress. Yes, we have a long way to go but we're slowly
getting there.

I had a school/teammate in Jr. High that killed
herself because she couldn't accept her sexuality. She heard the talk
in the hallways. True enough, they weren't directed at her. Very few
knew her secret. I was one of them. But the talk about "queers" was
enough to affect her.

I have always maintained that those who
holler the loudest about "queers" are struggling with their own
sexuality. If you're secure in who YOU are then what difference does
it make what someone else is or does or says or wears?

We're
getting there. But we--the gays and lesbians--have to take some
responsibility for our own progress. We have to come out. We have to
show our friends and co-workers and co-forum posters that we really are
pretty normal people and that the extremes (who seem to make the news
in disproportionate numbers) are not the norm. I am. My friends are.
We are Doctors, Lawyers, Teachers (and those numbers would startle
you), politicians, mothers and fathers. Our contributions to society
throughout history are enormous but they aren't being talked about.
Not like they should. Our contributions today aren't being talked
about because "gay" and "lesbian" still makes people uncomfortable.

We
have the same concerns that everyone else does. I worry about paying
for my kids' college if they go. I worry about making the mortgage
every month, paying my utility bill and gas bill while having enough
left over to buy groceries. I worry about having enough money for
retirement and taking care of my life partner. I worry about making
sure I have the right paperwork with me if I have to take my youngest
to the hospital just so I can make medical decisions for him. Do the
hets have to worry about that? I worry about having the right
paperwork so that I can make medical decisions for my partner of 20
years. Do married couples have to worry about that? I worry about
having the right paperwork so that if something happens to me, custody
of my oldest will go to my partner and if something happens to my
partner custody of my youngest will go to me. As current law stands,
the in-laws have more right to the children than we do. Do married
couples have to worry about that? If my partner survives me, she will
not get my pension. That doesn't happen with married couples. What
married couples take for granted, we have to plan for. There were 5
sets of legal papers we had to sign when we decided to have children.
I'd bet that most married couples don't have to go through that.

So,
even with all of that, I still say we're making some progress. We
still have a long way to go. One day, we will be a none issue.
Probably not in my lifetime but hopefully in my children's. At least the conversation is occurring.

Don't mess with my child

There's a new coffee shop that's opened right down the street. Cafe Eclectic. I've been there once and had really high hopes for it but now, I'm not so sure. My oldest was encouraged to apply for a job there. He did. He was told by one owner/manager/head cook/head-whatever to come back that next Saturday for training. He got up at 6:00AM so he could be ready and there by 7:00AM. He shows up and someone there--a different head something or other--told him, sorry--this is for people with more experience. We'll work the others in later.

He was disappointed. As an HR Professional for 18 years, I was embarrassed for the management group. How utterly unprofessional. As a mother, I was furious and embarrassed for my 15 year old.

Just so happens, we know the person with the money behind this operation. It's someone that my oldest has volunteered with on MANY occasions. Someone who has seen first hand how hard he works and how dependable he is. She's very unhappy that he's been treated this way. As a mother, I smile. As an HR professional, I want to grind my teeth.

He receives a phone call and is told to report on a Saturday. He does. He works for almost 8 hours.

He has YET to receive another phone call or to be put on the schedule. As a mother, I'm furious because I happen to know that they've hired another teenager close to my oldest's age who is a liar and a thief. I know this from first hand experience. The cafe does not. Well, not yet, anyway.

As a mother, I'm furious and want to scream at them.

As an HR professional, I'm furious and want to scream at them. If they aren't going to put him back on the schedule, fine, but have the common decency and respect to tell him that so that he can make other plans. Even if it's just a letter. Christ on a stick with cheese people, just because he's 15 doesn't mean he isn't deserving of respect. Perhaps if we treated our teenagers with more respect, they'd be more likely to show it.

As a mother, I want to call them and tell them that when stuff starts disappearing I can tell you who is probably responsible.

As a mother, I know better and know that this isn't my fight.

Still, it sets my teeth on edge or several different levels.

I don't think I can support them. I haven' been back except for that one Saturday morning.

Dammit. And it's so close to home.

On another note.....

How about that FREAK we call a city mayor?? Can someone PLEASE put him out of our misery? His arrogance is clinical and he needs treatment. I'm still holding out that the Feds are headed his way. Word is that they've questioned his son. I don't know about any of you but I haven't heard the fat lady sing just yet.

How is it that we have a mayor who a majority of the voters did NOT vote for? Something's wrong with that. I'm thinking that the charter needs to change how the mayor is elected. It shouldn't be a free-for-all or simple majority. There should be a primary and a runoff. The dynamics of the city and the racial make-up of the city has changed. The old rule isn't necessary. How do we change it?

And he ran, why?? To save us? Save us from what? That big bully Herman Morris or that bigger bully Carol Chumney? Please. Take your lanky, crazy, egomaniacal black ass home. I'm tired of hearing the puss that oozes from your mouth.

A piece of advice....

Never--EVER--put a hot screw in your shorts pocket. I learned that little lesson today after trying to hang the new ceiling fan in the sunroom.

No...I'm not finished with that little remodel. Yesterday, I climb up on the ladder and begin trying to hang the ceiling fan from the existing electrical box. Everytime we do a remodel in this house we discover just how crappy the former remodelers were. Who hangs an electrical box that is going to support a fan with FINE THREAD SHEETROCK SCREWS??? Not only that but they had barely hit the joist that's up there. How that old fan had not fallen is a mystery and miracle to me.

I took the old screws out including one that was partially screwed in with the head stripped out. That's when I discovered that a hot screw will burn through your shorts pocket. I also learned that one must not move very quickly on a 6' ladder. I'm sure the dirty handprint on the freshly painted ceiling can be touched up with new ceiling paint.

I persevered though. I got that new fan hung securely. I had to drill holes in the box so that the screws would hit the joist in the middle. I could hang from that fan if I wanted to. Some would call me stubborn. I prefer determined. This room will NOT get the best of me.

My oldest and I moved the saltwater tank Sunday. I can now finish laying the tile. Oh, guess what about the tile. It's not uniform in it's size. Some of the tiles are 1/16th" larger than others. Do you know what havoc that plays with laying a tile floor? Grout lines are not uniform. Drives me crazy.

Anyway, the oldest and I moved that tank. I had to tear it completely down and even mostly empty that tank weighs 100 or so pounds. It's in its new home and level.

The remodel is winding down. I have part of a wall to paint, crown moulding to put up, baseboard to put up and tile to grout. Then we'll be finished with it and on to the next project.

I'm tired but determined.

Good lord, I'm tired.

As you may or may not know, the family is working on remodeling the sun room. We've had to deal with water damage, mold and cranky building materials not to mention cranky family members. Attaching panels of bead board on the ceiling was a monsterous task even with an air compressor and framing nailer. I had to keep adjusting the pressure so that I didn't keep shooting the nail straight through the material.

My arms and shoulders will never be the same. Those framing nailers are heavy and working one over your head while on a ladder and leaning is no small task. Neither is yelling at your children to hold the broom handle steady while they prop up the ceiling panel. It was a video worth of AFV. The nice thing is that it's all up except for one short strip, which we held off on so that we could have one more rain to see if we really did fix the leak. If we did, then we should be able to finish the ceiling and begin painting this weekend.

Why is this important or blog worth? I dunno. Except to say that patience and perseverance are important attributes to have throughout your life. It's worth teaching your children regardless of how hard a lesson it is to learn.

One of the next major jobs is to move the 75 gallon salt water tank we have in there. Gawd. I need a fork lift. We can't move the tank until we lay the tile in the area we want to put the tank. Engineering and planning. It's everywhere.