Krafty1

Fortunate Frustrations

There are many who would tell you that I have a positive demeanor. And it's true, I do try to look at the positive side of things and always try to find something positive about even the most frustrating of individuals. But sometimes it's difficult not to get frustrated...even for those of us who remain mostly positive.

For instance, recently I discovered that there was water that would leak into the basement after a rain storm. So the next time it rained and I was home, it became apparent what the problem was...the gutters were spilling over and pouring right into the window well!!

Easy fix...

if you have a ladder...

which my parents have...

 

and they came over one evening with it for me to clean out the gutters...

five minutes before I was supposed to leave for one of my board commitments...

and was dressed for it...

not for cleaning gutters...

and did I mention that I'm not crazy about heights!?!...

but I did it...

cleaned out the gutters...

without getting my clothes dirty...

and made it to the event in time...

and was grateful the gutters were clean the next time it rained!!!

The gutters were minor and easy to overcome.

You may remember that I used to live in a house that we'd built a mere ten years ago...with all the amenities...like windows that actually open!  Most of the windows on this house have storms, but no screens...and the storms are painted/caulked/nailed/screwed/all of the above shut!  The few windows that have "combination" windows, are difficult at best.  Many of those don't open or have window wells so full with the deteriorated glazing that repairs/replacements need to be done!

Soon, we will order new windows for the house.  There's one piece of the divorce settlement that was supposed be part of the downpayment for a new house...but it never made it here in time.  In fact, nearly one year later the financial settlement isn't finished.  When it does arrive, it'll still become part of the house: new windows for the house, and hopefully before the snow flies!

In preparation, I filled out a credit app for a home improvement store...with my new address...and my "single" name...but they mailed it to my ex...in another state!!!...because the credit bureau says that I live with him!!! Gee, wouldn't he be surprised if I showed up on his doorstep with my suitcases!?!...not like that'll happen...but can you imagine!?!

(Anyway, it'll work out...but that's a tale for another day...a cautionary tale about keeping an eye on your credit report...and what it takes to clean it up if there's an error...or identity theft!!!)

Back to the current windows, the ones that don't open. Do you see what I see?  It's a window air conditioner.  That's right.  If the window won't work properly anyway, why not stick a window unit in it to cool my bedroom at night!?!  (I told you already, it's an old house. Next year, I'll use my home buyers credit to buy a new furnace and central air.)

Of course, getting the unit in was no easy task...on a warm afternoon...but thanks to my parents (again) we managed to get it in (plus one in Fred's room also). However, we'll have to watch our energy use since the entire upstairs (all three bedrooms and bathroom) is on a single circuit! But, that's another project for another time...replacement windows first.

My point of this already long post is that as frustrated as some of these items have made me, I consider myself very fortunate.  These are minor compared to what others are going through. 

Take my brother, for instance.  Three weeks ago he went in for his FIFTH back surgery. (He has bone issues...it's a long story.)  Last week, he went to the doctor to get things checked out since he started running a fever.  Within a couple of hours they had him back in surgery!  They had to reopen the incision and clean it out due to infection...staph infection. It was already into the fatty tissue and they feared it would soon attack his bones...the very same bones that already have disintegration issues!

Four more days in the hospital for him and then they sent him home...with a PICC line...(read about it)

He will need to self administer antibiotics for the next 10-12 days. He's understandably shaken...occasionally scared (though I don't know if he'd like me to say that)...and so are the rest of us. Of course, it puts everything back into perspective for me and reminds me how minor my frustrations are.

I am so very fortunate to have such minor frustrations come into my daily life.  Many of us are fortunate: with loving families, abundant friendships, and health. Yet we occasionally we let the frustrations of life allow us to forget our good fortune. We're human, after all. The challenge is to remember and embrace the fortune more than the frustration!

Gotta start somewhere

It's been WAY too long!  There have been times over the past month that I wanted to write...in fact, needed to write.  But, with any lengthy absence, it's hard to figure out where to start.

Should I write about what was on my mind?

Should I write a "catch-up" post first?

Should I bullet-point what's been happening?

And the longer it took me to decide, the longer I went without posting, the harder it was to restart.  But, then a friend asked me if I planned to be "off-radar" for much longer. Seemed there's been something missing. 

This is Nick. This is Fred's (fka Skyechild) most recent "big brother". However, this time, Fred also adopted Nick's brother and their Dad.(..and named Nick's mother as my sister!)

Fred and I were at the movies on Thursday and ran into Nick afterwards.  Funny thing was, I'd been thinking about sending him a text asking if he was at work. Before I had the chance to act on my idea, he walk out of his "office" and took us on a behind-the-scenes tour of the movie theater.

Fred paid close attention as Nick showed us how he was preparing a movie that opens this weekend for viewing.  The movie comes in on multiple reels and has to be spliced into one continuous reel. 15 inches of film equals one second of movie time!

It was amazing to see how it all works.  Not at all like I've seen in the movies! (Thanks Nick!!)

Why do I share behind-the-scenes at the theater with you on my "knitting blog"?  Well, because I needed to start writing again and Nick gave me material to write about. To write about "something" without worrying about what I "should" be writing about. Over the near future, I'll catch up on some of what we've been up to (mainly because I have photos) as well as cool things to share. For tonight, this is what you get because a girl needs to start somewhere.

And, as far as knitting is concerned, there are some completed projects.  However, amazingly, socks continue to avoid my needles.  I keep thinking about starting something, but have some kind of "block" that prevents me from just diving in and just getting started.

That's when a post on Facebook caught my eye.  I volunteered to test-knit for someone.  I won't be able to talk about it here. However, I'm sure that being assigned the task of knitting one sock within seven days may very well be the jump-start that my sock knitting needs! That'll begin this coming week. Gotta start somewhere!!