Val STILL Couldn't Outrun Hick, Even IF He Was Trying to Kill Her

Hick took a tumble earlier this week, over at Bargain House.

"I went out the front door to meet Old Buddy. He had some stuff to unload. I was looking out at the street while I was walking. The sidewalk is flat, then steps up and is flat again, then it steps up a third time. I didn't know I was at a step, and caught my feet on it. I fell right on my knees!"

Of course Hick didn't tell me about it for a day or two. I noticed he was hobbling a little. And groaning more than usual when his feet hurt.

"I think I mighta broke my kneecap!"

"I don't think so. I doubt you could walk if you broke your kneecap. A broken bone hurts all the time. It doesn't come and go. And if you bump another bone connected to it, you feel the pain at the break. It's called referred pain. It's actually a way to test for a broken bone. Tap on another bone."

"The first day after it, I was working on my knees, putting in floor trim. It hurt. But now I can't even get on my knees. I feel a tingle."

"I don't know what that could be. A nerve? Nerves tingle. Like your funny bone, the ulnar nerve in your elbow. Maybe there's swelling in your knee, pressing on a nerve, because you hurt it and then were kneeling on it, making it worse."

"I don't know. It feels like it has a hole in it! But it's not swollen." Hick pulled up his jeans. "Here. On the outer side."

"Well. I don't know why it would feel like hole. Unless it's a place not swollen. I guess you could have chipped the kneecap, but your pain doesn't sound like that. Maybe you injured the bursa."

"I only have one bursa. I think it's in the other knee, but I don't remember."

"Huh. That's odd."

"It's what they told me when I had my knees operated on."

"You might want to see a doctor if it keeps hurting."

"I've been puttin' that Voltaren on it, that they gave me for my feet."

When I told The Pony, he was worried.

"Now I'm worried about DAD. Please tell me at least he's going to a doctor about it!"

"Well. He hasn't mentioned that. He thinks he broke something, but I say he couldn't walk if he did."

"Um. We are THAT family who doesn't go to the doctor, and tries to ignore things that are wrong. If you remember, I was going to walk back to my LLV [Long Life Vehicle] when I was sitting on the sidewalk with a broken ankle. Then that neighbor drove me back to wait on my supervisor."

Yes. I DO remember that. As for Hick, he's still getting around better than I am.

Bargain House Solo Work

Hick was on his own at Bargain House on Thursday. Old Buddy called in sick, so Hick worked on things he could do alone. He sent me pictures, because he thrives on VALidation!

"Windows trimmed in front bedroom"

As with most of Hick's communications, I was at first puzzled. The windows didn't look trimmed to me! Just like when Hick said the bathroom was done, but it still needed trim board, a shower door, and the water hooked up.

Am I the only person who thinks this doesn't look like a "trimmed" window? This is the window that looks out at the side neighbor's house. I can see there has been work done on it. But trimmed? I don't think so!

I questioned Hick when he got home. He said he meant to take pictures BEFORE he started, but he forgot. This window was partially done when he remembered.

THIS is what I would call a trimmed window. It's on the front of Bargain House, looking across the street. Hick said both windows are the ones originally in the house, so he didn't have to buy any, just trim them. He also said that he finished both windows, and painted the walls white. So the front bedroom is almost done.

Hick also said that there is a problem with the kitchen window that will have to be addressed. Heh, heh. He didn't say addressed. I think he might have said dealt with.

"There's a black line in it. It's a double-paned window, and some of the foam has leaked out and expanded. I'll ask my buddy who does windows if there's some way he can fix it. He might know what to do. It will be cheaper than buying a whole new window, but we might have to do that."

Because he's not busy enough, Hick has agreed to paint a house. Somebody at the Senior Center asked him to paint her mom's house for a Mother's Day gift. But she wants it to be a secret. A surprise.

"I told her I'd do it. But I'm not sure how I'm going to keep it a secret!" 

I guess Hick needs to address that issue with the gift-giver! Short of taking her mom out for the day, and then driving up to a painted house, I'm not sure how they will pull that off.

Small Town Politics, a Hornet's Nest Hick Wants to Stir

Hick's mouth is wanting to write checks that his rumpus can't cash!

You may recall that Hick has taken a job overseeing the maintenance of the apartments for the elderlies who live above the Senior Center. Somebody told him he must be doing something right, because the resident elderlies have been speaking highly of him. Mainly because he's doing SOMETHING.

Of course these accolades are not enough for Hick. He wants to get to the bottom of things he sees as questionable. Nothing that concerns the welfare of the elderlies. Just the way things are run.

"I noticed that the city owns the building, but the Senior Center pays for the insurance. But the beneficiary on the insurance is the city!"

That sounds odd, but I'm sure there are probably state or federal grants involved that might have something to do with that set-up.

"Oh, and the Senior Center is supposed to pay for having that strip of grass there mowed. But the city owns the property. At our next meeting, I want to ask them about that. It's a meeting for us who work there, and people on a board. The city administrator comes. If grass gets too high at a house in the city, the owner gets a notice to clean it up, or gets a fine. I want to ask the city administrator what happens if the Senior Center doesn't have money to get the grass mowed? Is the city going to send itself a letter to clean it up? And if they don't, is the city going to fine itself?"

"You need to watch it. My sister's husband hasn't been the mayor for a while now. You're going to make enemies in city government, and they'll give you a hard time from then on."

"Heh, heh! They might fire me from my new job!"

"They might..."

"Oh, well. I just want to know how they can justify the insurance and the mowing, when it's THEIR property, but we're supposed to pay. One of my buddies says he thinks we only pay liability insurance. So I could understand that."

I really hope Hick does not bring up these issues at their meeting. A job is a temporary thing, but enemies are forever. The Pony's house is in that city. It's still in our name.

Val Resists the Call of the Scratchers

I hope the local economy does not collapse. Val is sitting her ample rumpus at home on Wednesday, rather than going to town for scratchers! Hopefully this won't result in convenience store clerks being laid off, or lottery machines being repossessed.

I also missed a grocery-shopping trip with The Pony. He came out to pick up his laptop mouse that he'd forgotten on Sunday. I would have dropped it off if I went to pick him up for shopping. But those plans changed. WHY???

It's tax time.

I spent the morning working on taxes. Yes. I do my own, with the assistance of TurboTax. It's still time-consuming. Those fields aren't going to autofill themselves! It's pretty much common sense. Just answer the questions, and type in details from W-2s and 1099s of various kinds like RET, INT, DIV, etc. We had seven different 1099s, and social security info, and that darn Hick had the NERVE to get a W-2 for working twice at the election! Still, that was the easiest part. I've yet to get to the sale of our QuickFlip house, and Hick's business.

Have you started serenading me with the world's smallest violin yet? I can't quite hear. The wind is whipping around with 51 mph gusts, and sustained wind at 27 mph. Another reason I am not itching to go get scratchers. Also, it's my TV night from 7:00 to 10:00. Can't miss Survivor or The Amazing Race. That's how I learn world geography, you know!

I'm pretty sure that on Thursday, I will be ready to get out. The taxes still won't be completely done, but the easy parts will.

Hick Has a Nose for Business

Hick the Bargain Magnet found some cabinets for Bargain House, our latest flip. He was talking about them on Saturday morning before leaving for his SUS2.5 (Storage Unit Store 2.5).

"I found cabinets for the house. They're down in Genius's college town. I had told the lady I'll take them, but I had a question about whether the countertop comes with them. And a time to go pick them up. She never got back to me last night."

"Well, I'm not surprised, with all those tornadoes last night. One hit College Town! They had a nail salon owner on there, asking for help moving her stuff. The whole building was destroyed. It hit some chain store, too. Pictures on the news. So that cabinet lady probably had more important things to worry about besides your cabinets."

"Huh. I wonder if they got destroyed!"

"I wasn't even thinking about THAT. Only that if might be hard to get around in town during the cleanup, and she might be without electricity. You don't need to be going down there this weekend."

"Yeah. If she ever gets back to me, I'll tell her Monday."

"How much are the cabinets?"

"They're $500."

"How much would they be worth new? In a store?"

"A lot! Anywhere from $7,000 to $10,000. The countertop is granite. They're nice cabinets."

"How much would new cabinets be here at a store?"

"If I got the cheap particle board cabinets, about $2,500."

When Hick got home Saturday evening, the woman sent him a text.

"Huh. I told her I could get there Monday if she gives me a time. I said I hoped she survived the storm okay, and she said everything was fine, they just got rain and a little wind."

"That's weird."

"Yeah. And then she said she hopes the cabinets are still here if I wait until Monday, that they're taking a $100 deposit to hold them. She never mentioned any deposit before!"

"Maybe she has somebody who offered her more."

"I'm wondering if she's a scammer. I told her I don't pay nobody no money up front! Maybe the cabinets got damaged. Or maybe she don't even live there in College Town. She said she's going to list them as "contingent" on her page. I just looked at it, and it says 'These cabinets are worth $7,000 to $14,000, and we will take offers.' So now she's changed it."

"That does sound fishy. I'd say forget it! Other cabinets will come along."

"Yeah. I don't want nothin' to do with that deal now."

Hick Heroes On

We had planned all week to grill on Sunday evening. The stormy weather would be gone by Saturday morning. Hick and The Pony both work on Saturdays, but Sunday is The Pony's day off. Hick said he would leave his SUS2.5 (Storage Unit Store 2.5) by 3:00. We told him there was no need to leave that early. He could stay until his regular time of 5:00 if he wanted.

Hick came home around 4:25. We told him to wear his coat and gloves while tending GassyG Jr. The 80-degree temperatures had dropped to the low 50s for Sunday. The wind was chilly. Hick grilled the New York Strip steaks, the pepper steaks, and 12 sausage patties. The Pony and I don't have to cook for a few days, heh, heh!

Hick had the meat ready in 30 minutes. The Pony and I made a few sides. Nothing elaborate this time, just The Pony's favorites that are simple. 

Hick chose a sausage patty (sorry, I refuse to call that a bratwurst, despite the labeling of Save A Lot), a pepper steak, slaw, Sister Schubert's rolls, a giant baked potato, and stuffing.

My plate looked a little different. I'm not a finicky eater. I just pick the foods I really want. When I bit into my sausage patty, I told Hick it didn't look done enough. You can't play around with pork! Hick swore it was fine, but he got up and took my sausage to the microwave for a few seconds. It was fantastic! My hero came through again. Don't you go worrying that Val didn't get enough to eat!

I chose to squander my caloric budget on salad! It probably has more calories than Hick's entire plate, heh, heh. But that's what I wanted. I used iceberg lettuce this time. With shredded cheddar, a diced boiled egg, cherry tomatoes, fried onion crisps, and blue cheese dressing.

The Pony had a giant baked potato with a stick of Kerrygold! Almost, anyway. The Pony is a Butterton! That's a sausage patty that he desecrated with ketchup! And some stuffing, rolls, and a pepper steak.

The Pony also had a salad. Our tastes differ. The Pony used a bag salad, Italian Blend. With shredded cheddar, diced boiled egg, and red onion. With extra onion on the side! This is before The Pony applied his Creamy Caesar dressing.

I forgot to take a picture of the desserts, but they were just store-bought cookies and brownies. Caramel pecan cookies, chocolate chunk cookies, and cookies-and-cream topped brownies. Yes. There was a certain theme...

Anyhoo... The Pony went home with a NY Strip, four sausage patties, buns, rolls, stuffing, and all three desserts. I did save four cookies for Hick, and two for me.

I'm looking forward to leftovers.

Val Is Annoyed With Save-A-Lot Brats

I like to buy our meat at Save A Lot. Especially when Hick plans to grill. They have their own butcher. It's way better than Walmart meat, and usually better than 10Box. Much less expensive than Country Mart. So I braved the 50 mph winds on Friday, to make sure I didn't have to fight for the handicap parking space on a weekend.

My goal was to pick up some steaks for Hick and The Pony, and some bratwursts for all of us. Save A Lot makes their own. None of that prepackaged stuff. We like the plain version, but they always have other kinds as well, such as cheddar, jalapeno, and the hard-to-find apple.

The bread and buns are just inside the door, along the front wall as you go in and start toward the produce section to the right. I grabbed two packs of hot dog buns. I really like their store brand. Not dry and crumbly like some of the brand names. The meat section is along the back wall. 

I found some nice New York Strip steaks for Hick and The Pony:

They DO love their steaks! Something else caught my eye. At first I thought they might be filet mignon, a favorite of Hick. Upon closer inspection, I read the label and discovered they were pepper steaks:

They looked pretty good, and I could include them in the 5-for-$25 deal when I got the bratwursts. We always send home leftovers with The Pony, and it's easy to toss a pack in the freezer for Hick to grill for us another day. No need to let a deal go to waste.

Imagine my dismay when I got down to the pork section of the cooler and found NO BRATWURSTS! Well. What I found were LABELED as brats. But they were NOT BRATS!

What in the NOT-HEAVEN? I suppose somebody forgot to order the sausage casings this week! I've bought these sausage patties there before, and we've grilled them. They're good. But they are NOT BRATS! Still, I needed something tasty for us to grill. So I got four packs. Two of these plain versions, and two of the BBQ flavor I hadn't seen before.

Of course this meant I had to go back up front, past the registers, to put back the hot dog buns and get hamburger buns. So clever, aren't they, trying to make you buy something you don't need by forcing your bread selection before the meat! I paraded right past the registers, over past the door, wishing an employee would rush me for shoplifting! Nope. I guess they figured I still wouldn't be to my car by the time police arrived, heh, heh. I pushed on to the bread and picked my buns. Then back around to pay.

I'm really annoyed by those Save A Lot brats.