Where's The Snow?

 2/21/2021

Do you know, that I think being a weatherman, isn't likely to be fired, if his forecast doesn't come true. It was predicted that we were going to get inches of snow, and sadly that didn't happen.

After losing electricity, when Benjamin was a toddler, and we have an all electric house. This means, no heat, no cooking, etc. It's hard to tell a toddler, that the house is cold, and the food is as well. 

That storm, was the last one, where we didn't have electricity. Jeff promptly bought a whole house GENERATOR. Our girl, "Jenny" is big. Since she runs off the gas line, she can run indefinitely. Jenny is lovely to look at, but she was professionally installed, having met all required codes.

Once a week, Jenny has a short run. You can hear her, and the noise, if you will, brings me a lot of comfort. But, here's the thing, once Jenny was installed, we literally have never had a power outage for more than a few minutes. 

I had one neighbor asked, if the power did go out, could they run a cord that would connect to Jenny. Our answer then, as it is now, NO. This is the same neighbor, who didn't like looking into our back yard (probably Jenny's fault), so she installed two panels of plastic fencing across the back of her yard. I am a very patient person - truly. We could, of course, paint Jenny green, right now she is beige. But, then thinking about it, "frankly I don't give a damn" what the neighbors think.

This neighborhood, unlike living in California, wants to be in your business ALL THE TIME. What are you doing? Why are you doing "x"? I think one of your tall trees is going to fall on our house. We took action on that one, and instead of just pulling out THAT true, we removed all of the Cypress trees in the backyard. And, boy did that change the look of the yard.

I suppose in the spring, we'll have to consult with somebody, about which and how many trees/bushes we should plant. Here's what I do know - never going to put another another tree, plant, etc., right on the fence line. It's just better that way. Something I miss about California, is the cement block fences. I can't see you, and you can't see me. Perfecto.

The removal of 14 very tall Cypress trees, did take some time, and was noisy as well. After the trees were gone, they ground down the stumps too. This leaves the backyard, practically empty. We do have Wendy's cement bench in the yard, and personally would like to give that bench to Andrew. They have a massive backyard, and they could put the bench around the firepit.

Monday, I'm going to Andrew's house for a week. Stacey and I, will set up times to take a tour of some of the retirement communities. I had tried to do this on my own, but after a bit, I become very confused, and can't remember what I've been told. That's where somebody has to step in and take over my search. Most respite care in the senior communities are for a month. Staying that long, will give me an overview of the facility, activities and food.

I believe that eventually I will find a community that ticks off all the boxes. Once I move in, Jeff will have to take over the blog, since I won't have a computer, and likely no television either.

What I will bring to the temporary facility is books, art projects, some of which are not going so well. I am also taking out to Andrew's house, a few games: Scrabble and a Family Feud game, that also has some word search puzzles.  

I'm going to Andrew's house on Monday for a week. Stacey can help tour communities with me, if she has time. She is a very busy woman, and I don't want to add to her list of things to do, by visiting possible places. Stacey is very good to me, and there are no words that could express how grateful I am. Wendy, who lives farther away, and teaches classes, as well works with Elly for homework, etc.

Have a good weekend everybody. Even though Jeff and I have had our first shot, we will continue to do all the right things.

P