Not Quite Ready For a 2-Hour Nightly Soak

Hick had a helper over at Pony House on Monday. They worked on the plumbing in the Master Bathroom. To see where the piping (heh, heh, I'm sure that's not how Hick referred to it) should go, they set The Pony's jetted tub in place.

 

That's in the back corner of the house, nearest the street and garage side. The pipe is also in place for the toilet, which I think is going to be close to the tub. Hick said he centered it under the window, and that there has to be room for the closet to open, which is just out of sight on the right.

The floor is getting a layer of those wall boards Hick took from Bedroom 2, put on top for some added insulation, then the regular plywood floor, then the same laminate flooring as Bathroom 2. You can catch a peek at the fresh lumber that forms the new floor joists under the Master Bath.

Hick says the tub will come up a few inches as he builds a frame around it. He has waterproof "greenboard" to put behind it. Which he says is made for bathrooms, meant to be waterproof, and not green at all, but white. I'm leaning toward some more of that shiny whiteboard, but Hick says drywall. We'll see how it goes, and what The Pony has to say.

The sink will be at the bottom of the picture, against the wall that abuts the Master Bedroom, where the two red and blue thingies are flopping. I'm guessing they represent cold water and hot water.

Still a lot of work to get done on Pony House, but Hick is making progress.

Things That Go THUMP-BUMP-A-DUMP In the Early Morning

I have been fighting a double ear infection for the past two weeks. Convenient Care has me on antibiotics, but I'm on my own for pain. It has lessened since I started the meds, but I've had little sleep for a while. Any time I can get comfortable, I am loathe to move, lest the pain return. 

 

My OPC (Old People Chair) keeps my head semi upright. It is heated, and I have a fleece throw that I won at one of my sister the ex-ex-mayor's wife's Christmas Eve games. For the last couple nights, I've been able to catch 4 hours of consecutive sleep!

 

Saturday night, I ventured out to my OPC around 2:30 a.m. Which was really 1:30 a.m., due to the end of Daylight Savings Time. I set my clock back in my lair, and also the one in the basement that I can see from my OPC. I settled down with the fleece up to my chin, and watched several episodes of Ridiculousness. It always takes my mind off stuff, making me relieved that I have not been caught maiming myself by someone's cell phone.

 

Sometime around 3:30, after a bathroom break, and checking to see if any good movies were on, I drifted off to sleep, snug as a slug in a fleece, in my OPC. 

THUMP-BUMP-A-DUMPITY-DUMP-DUMP!!!

I was startled out of a lovely dream in which I'd been picked up by friends along the side of the road, leaving The Pony to drive a school bus home, and taken to a delicious buffet with a prime rib the size of the Flintstones rack of brontosaurus ribs, a roasted pig head, assorted side dishes, and desserts of a giant block of chocolate, and a mountain of chocolate mousse. I think these dreams might be a side effect of my antibiotic...

Anyhoo... I looked at the clock. It was five minutes to 7:00. I was anxious and upset, because that sound came from over my head. I was afraid The Pony might have fallen in the shower. Or knocked off every cleansing product he had into the tub. Or maybe the noise came from The Pony's bedroom, also overhead. Perhaps he had fallen while trying to get out of bed. I was very worried about The Pony. But not worried enough to crawl out of my warm OPC and ascend the 13 rail-less wooden stairs to knock on his door, and perhaps wake him too early to get ready for work. He still had another half hour he could sleep. Sleeeeeeep. I drifted off again.

I next awoke at 9:05. I was a half-hour late for my antibiotic. No big deal. I took it. I went upstairs. Hick was gone to his Storage Unit Store, and The Pony was at work. I walked into the master bathroom, and was annoyed that Hick had closed the door to our walk-in closet. We never close it. What shenanigans was he up to now? I pushed the door to open it. PUSHED the door. It didn't want to move! Something was behind it! I turned on the closet light, and leaned on the door, and poked my nose through the crack. 

THE ENTIRE RACK OF HICK'S CLOTHES, AND THE SHELF ABOVE IT, WERE ON THE FLOOR! 

A couple of boxes blocked the door from opening. I could see that one held record albums! I could reach my arm far enough to grab my town clothes. But that door was not about to open. I sent Hick a text about the tragedy. He said, "That's odd. I'll fix it when I get home."

Which he DID, around 4:00. Until 5:00. A bolt holding the clothes rack had sheared off, bringing down all the hanging clothes, and everything on the shelf above. 

When The Pony got home around 5:15, I told him of the situation, and that he was lucky Hick was done with repairs, or his nightly soak in the big triangle tub in the master bathroom might have been delayed! The Pony was relieved. And had this to say:

"I heard a big crash this morning around 7:00. Like a lot of stuff falling. I got up and looked in my bathroom. That's where it sounded like it came from. I came out to the living room, but didn't see anything messed up there. I even came down the steps to make sure you were okay in your chair. You were asleep. So I went back to bed until time to get up."

Hick said, "It must have happened right after I left."

Funny that Hick's falling wardrobe and collectibles on our end of the house sounded to me and The Pony like it was on the opposite end of the house. IF that's what we both heard...

I'm Sorry To See It Go, But Less Worried When the Wind Does Blow

The pecan tree at Pony House is almost gone! According to Hick on Friday, there's about two days of work left for Tree-Trimmer Guy's crew, which is himself and two helpers. 

 

Wow. The sky is so bright when it's not full of tree. I think this must be the limb that pointed towards the front yard. The one the kept dropping limblets on the electric line. The guy in the foreground is the "kid" who Hick sees up at his Storage Unit Store. Apparently Tree-Trimmer Guy met him in the liquor store, where they somehow got to talking about tree trimming. The Kid has a bigger trailer and heavier truck than Tree-Trimmer Guy. I don't know if the other dude is the helper or Tree-Trimmer Guy.

 

You can see the size of the logs on the ground. That trunk is going to be a monster to move. Looks like some sawdust got on the roof. Hick has paid all but the final $1000 of the agreed-upon $3250. After seeing what it takes to bring down a tree this size, I am convinced that the job was worth it.

Here's a view from the back yard:

 

Pony House still needs a lot of TLC. But at least it won't get crushed if the next tornado steers this way. I really liked that tree. Until I realized it was a potential killer.

November Comes In Like a 3-CENT Piece

MONDAY, November 1, the month kicked off to a good start for Val's Future Pennyillionaire Fortune. I stopped by the School-Turn Casey's on my way to make a bank deposit. Of course my mission there was scratchers.

Only one gal was working, at the register on the left. A man stood at the right register, but there was no clerk. The guy ahead of me stepped over to stand behind the customer being processed at the open register. It was clear that he was next. 

The guy in front of the unopen register turned to wander off to the right, and peruse the pizza case. I saw a PENNY on the floor where he'd been standing. Of course I stepped up to get it, right as another worker stepped behind the counter, and said, "I can help who's next."

Next-Man shot me a look. I was already bent over, harvesting my rightful penny.

"I know you're next. I'm just getting this lucky coin, then I'll be out of your way. You were ahead of me."

He didn't pitch a fit or anything. I stepped back and he stepped up, and then the OTHER clerk called me over. Sadly, I had left my phone in T-Hoe, since I was feeling puny with my head pain that day. But I posed my penny on a scratcher once I got back in T-Hoe:

 

Isn't he all craggy and handsome, that Abe on a scratcher, a 2002 version who had been face-down on the Casey's floor just a few moments earlier. Hey! That could be my new catch phrase: "ABE ON A SCRATCHER!"

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TUESDAY, November 2, was not turning out to be a good day for me. I had to make a trip to Convenient Care, then the liquor store parking lot was overcrowded, then the dead mouse smelling post office street parking was full, then the Backroad's Casey's (my substitute for the liquor store) was out of the $3 Christmas scratchers I wanted. So when I parked over at the Gas Station Chicken Store, I was worn down and frazzled, half-head pounding, and left my phone in T-Hoe.

But wait! A few steps towards the door, and I SAW A PENNY MEANT JUST FOR ME! I went back to T-Hoe and grabbed my phone.

 

Gotta look close! My penny is near the blue corner of the handicap markings, in that mess of oil or...? Yes. It was sticky. Yes. I washed it when I got home!

 

Looks clean enough here, but the back of that heads-up 1991 penny was sticky with stuff. Yes. I also used Germ-X on my hands before I got home.

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WEDNESDAY, November 3, the Gas Station Chicken Store kept my streak alive! I was parked over on the hill side, due to inconsiderate interlopers taking up my three favored parking spaces.

 

As I walked around T-Hoe's rear, I spied my prize.

 

It was a face-down 2010 penny, looking a bit worse-for-wear on that newly resurfaced pavement.

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That makes 3 COINS, and 3 CENTS this week towards Val's Future Pennyillionaire Fortune.

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2021 RUNNING TOTAL

Penny       # 105, 106, 107.
Dime         still at 12.
Nickel       still at 7.
Quarter    still at 6.

2020 TOTALS
Penny     134
Dime        25
Nickel      10
Quarter      1
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Hick's Buddy Identifies a Corpse, and Pony House Gets a Zipline

Hick hired one of his buddies to assist him in renovating Pony House. Just for certain jobs he can't do by himself, like working under the house. Hick can get in, and Hick can get out, but Hick can't repeatedly crawl in and out to get what he needs. Hick's Buddy is no spring chicken, but he said he has no issues with going under the house. With HOS (Hick's Oldest Son) busy with other things, this should speed up the Pony House projects, since Hick will know for sure when he can tackle certain jobs.

On Wednesday they shored up the floor joists that were unstable under the Master Bedroom. Thursday, Hick's Buddy finished removing the old ductwork under Pony House. According to Hick, it was not usable. As an extra bonus, Hick's Buddy found out what was stinking up Pony House. A DEAD SQUIRREL. Which he also removed.

In addition, Hick has an agreement with "a kid from the storage units" to assist him in jobs Hick's Buddy can't do. Such as putting in the plumbing. Such a small world! Apparently Kid also works at the Liquor Store where I buy my scratchers, and has a girlfriend who works at the post office with Pony. AND is on the new crew of Tree-Trimmer Guy. He's not exactly a kid, at almost 30.

Anyhoo... they've been lopping off lumber from the pecan tree this week. Hick says he sent me a picture, but it hasn't arrived yet. He also had a short video, but I knew our weak-as-a-kitten invisible internet juju could not handle such a transfer.

Tree-Trimmer Guy made a ZIPLINE to drop the limbs. Hick says you can one it online if you look for tree-trimming ziplines. I'll take his word for it. In fact, Tree-Trimmer Guy said he'd never used one before, but looked it up and gave it a try. Here's how it works, as seen in Hick's video...

Up in the top of the pecan tree, you can see leaves rustling. Then a log the thickness of a Sumo Wrestler's thigh drops down into view, and begins sliding down a rope that is stretched from up in the tree, down into the back yard. That's all there is to it. Hick says it happened too fast for him to turn the phone and show the other end of the zipline. 

Tree-Trimmer Guy has his truck parked in the back yard. It has eye bolts on the front that the other two workers thread a rope through. The upper end of the rope is attached in the tree. Tree-Trimmer Guy ties off the section of limb that he's about to cut, with its ropes attached to the zip line. The guys on the ground pull the zipline rope taught, but have to let it go slack as the zipping limb nears the ground, or it will slam into the front of the truck!

Tree-Trimmer Guy called Hick on Thursday afternoon, and said he had finished the limbs hanging over Pony House. Now the main part of the tree is left. As Hick says, the upper limbs are still as thick as a regular tree trunk. He paid Tree-Trimmer Guy $1000 of his fee on Wednesday. So $1250 of the agreed-upon price of $3250 has been paid.

"I knew he was planning to cut the limbs over the house Thursday. So I didn't go over to work. I didn't want to be inside while that was going on."

Hick said that one limb he watched come down the zipline was so heavy that the tractor almost couldn't pick it up. It was thicker than Hick could reach his arms around. I think Tree-Trimmer Guy is learning a lot on this job.

Hopefully, It's Not a Portent of His Eventual Destination

Hick stepped out on the front porch Wednesday evening to deposit a stool. A fake-leather-covered round-backed bar stool that's been in the basement for as long as we've lived here. He got a set of four when his old factory was clearing out junk. Which he was in charge of. Not that his old factory had a bar. It made saw blades for butchers, same as his newer factory.

Anyhoo... Hick came lugging that tall stool up the basement steps, plopping it down on each of the 13 steps ahead of his feet.

"Dad. WHY are you bring that stool up here?"

"I'm taking it up to my storage locker. I need something to sit on behind my counter."

"I hope you don't leave it right there! I won't be able to get down the steps!"

"I'm not. I'm putting it out on the porch, then into my truck." Hick opened the front door. "It stinks out here! Smells like SULFUR!" He closed the door. The Pony and I cut eyes at each other.

"What in the Not-Heaven? WHY would it smell like sulfur?"

"That's the rotten egg smell."

"I KNOW that. They put it in gas, too, so you can tell a leak."

"We don't HAVE gas, Mom."

"I KNOW that! But a neighbor might have a propane leak."

The Pony went to check the level of the bath water he was running in the big triangle tub in the master bathroom.

"Whew! That STINKS! Don't you smell it, Pony?"

"No. I sometimes smell it when I first start running the water. From the drain. But I don't smell it now. Oh, wait! Here in the living room I smell it."

"Yeah. Dad was fanning the door as he took out his stool. WAIT A MINUTE! A few days ago, I cleaned out FRIG II, and threw three old eggs off the back porch. One of them broke. Not the other two. I wonder if the dogs brought them around. You know how they are. Juno used to carry the chicken eggs around in her mouth."

"That could be it! The dogs might have bit into the rotten eggs in the yard or on the porch."

We have not yet investigated. Nor have I told Hick of the dog possibility.

How Many Pipers Can a Postal Pony Pay When a Postal Pony Pays the Piper

The time has come, the VALrus said, 

To talk of just one thing

Of Pony pay for broken bone

The trouble that it brings

And how to fix this travesty

Before the stigma clings

 

It's time to pay the piper! The Pony got an official letter concerning his salary payment during the time he was off with the broken ankle he suffered on his mail route (and had to wait 2 WEEKS to get the proper paperwork to see a specialist, after initial treatment by a nurse practitioner).

 

The Pony has been expecting it. One of his managers said she had received information that the USPS wants its money back! That's the logical thing that would happen, since the Department of Labor denied The Pony's workman's compensation claim due to a "lack of information" concerning paperwork that was mishandled and delayed.

 

This is not a big deal to The Pony. That money is sitting in his bank account, ready for refunding. It's not like he went on a spending spree and bought a $23,000 house! The Pony thinks he was paid for 3 weeks of his time off. This official letter wants reimbursement for 

1 week. So be it!

 

The Pony has 15 days from letter receipt to provide reimbursement. Three ways to pay:

 

1- Mail a check or money order with the stub attached to the official letter

2- Get an official link through email to pay online by credit or debit card

3- Have the manager submit paperwork to withhold a designated percent of future pay (at least 15 percent)

 

You know which option is off the table, right? And which one is an iffy proposition.

 

NO WAY is The Pony going to rely on a manager to handle the withholding paperwork! Not after the initial injury paperwork process was so mangled. Nor will The Pony take a chance on the USPS to deliver his check within the designated time period. No siree, Bob! Not during the holiday season that is just kicking off.

The Pony will be submitting his payment online. There will be an electronic record of payment. 

Oh, The Pony also has an option to delay payment if he has an appeal with the DOL to RECONSIDER his original workman's compensation claim. After discussion, the committee of Hick, Val, and Pony agreed that it's best to get it over with now. 

IF that decision is reversed, that week (weeks?) will just have to be included in the back pay.