Done Done

The former office keys. Yes, there were two of them. We had the building doors to pass through before getting to the office doors. The locks were changed twice in the 16 years I was in the building; the first time when we moved across the hall and took over the space vacated by some real estate company, and the second time when an employee was fired. This new space has one key. We have a front and a back door, but they are keyed the same. AND, that key is a much lighter weight silver-colored thing. The change in weight of my key ring has been very noticeable.

We hired a cleaning company to clean our new offices twice a month. They also do close-outs so we hired them to clean the old space. It was amazing. The building owners were responsible for the cleaning company and we must have gone through at least 8 different companies in 16 years. You saw the ants on my windowsill. Yeah. They just didn't clean everywhere. This new company cleaned the faceplates on the light switches, dusted and washed all the walls and cleaned blinds. When I met the cleaning company's estimator at the old office she looked at me and asked when the last time was the blinds were cleaned. Darned if I know. We had vertical blinds in the old office and some of them were not working properly. We gave up trying to get them fixed. They were not wiped clean.

I had this corner office on the first floor. It's a southwest corner, but those windows leaked so badly. My office was usually 8-10 degrees colder than the other offices. I would have a space heater under my desk in the summer, too, because the AC seemed to think it was cooling the entire Chicagoland area and blast on high all day. In the winter, the space never heated up. It would be 78 in other offices and 68 in mine. It's tough to type when your office is 65 when you walk into it in the morning.

This is the front door. In the fall, the leaves from the vines growing on the wall would collect in front of the door. It was kind of interesting from a science standpoint because the design would cause air to swirl in front of the door. You'd get this great pile of leaves in that nook, leaves which would then stick to your shoes after a rain and get tracked into the building.

The current landlord has been trying to sell the building for 3 years. We almost never saw anyone from the management company and I often felt that when we would call about replacing lights or fixing broken things, I was being an annoyance to them. It wasn't unusual to come to work and find the building locked up. Maintenance hadn't gotten over to unlock the doors. This building was also last on the route for snow removal. They considered tossing buckets of salt on the walk, "clearing the snow".

I got the "honor", if you will, of doing the final walk-through, since I'd been in the building the longest. The cleaning company had done a wonderful job. There wasn't much of a deposit to get back, but Mike wanted every penny. The air still smelled of lemon cleaning products. Yes, 8 years of wear on the carpet showed and there were a couple of corners which were dinged, but the space looked great for as dirty as we could get it. The gal who walked through the space with me seemed more annoyed at having to do this than really looking at what we'd done. We made small talk about our move and parted. I did one final walk around. I mentioned this back in December when we officially moved north. I didn't feel attached to the space as I thought I would. 16 years is a long time, any more, to be with a company AND to be in one space. Yet, I don't miss it.

I come here every morning now. We have our number on the door, which helps because each one of us had driven by the office trying to find it. I have a nice east view out my window. Squirrels cavort in the pine tree. It just feels more pleasant. I don't mind the drive each way. It's actually quite relaxing.

Running errands over the past weekend, I wondered if my keys would still work. Our lease at the old space ended last Sunday. I was tempted to swing by the building to see if I could still get in. How often do companies change locks, I wondered? The building isn't on any closed circuit security camera so I could let myself in and out with no problem. Would they rekey the outer door, too, if they rent the space? Could I get in over the weekend to use the bathroom, say?

We've all put our old keys in our desk drawers. I think Gene actually tossed his, but the rest of us have a bit of nostalgia for those keys. Eventually, I'll recycle them or give them to someone doing a craft project with keys. For now, they are a reminder of where I spent 16 years of my life.

Beverage:  Raspberry Seltzer

Deb

Dear Com Ed,

I really don't need to know why the power went out on a Saturday night that was clear as a bell with temperatures dropping into the negative number. I don't really want to pay for a "smart grid" that does nothing for me other than tell you there is a power outage in my neighborhood. I can do that by calling your hot line. As much as you try to sell this, it's not working.

Why?

Because "smart grid" doesn't keep the power on. It's solely designed for you to spot power outages. What I need, what we all need, is an upgrade to our electrical infrastructure so the power doesn't go out on Saturday, December 7th at 8:30 p.m. Since covering all the windows, I've discovered that 69 is the new 72 and the three of us are happy and warm, but that warmth evaporates when it's not replaced. It was 66 when the power came on an hour later. I probably need to look at my attic insulation and add more.

Still, on a night with no wind and a half moon emulating the lines from "A Visit From St. Nick", there shouldn't have been a power outage at all. Spare me the reasons. Spare me the rhetoric about a new technology that will find outages faster. Fix the delivery system so it doesn't break in the first place.

On the bright side, making glitter covered stars by flash and candle light is rather fun.

Beverage:  Irish Breakfast tea

Deb

Not Quite Topless

With summer weather and the clear blue skies and hot temperatures that brings, I have considered going topless. This is the best I have done so far.

There is one primary reason for this. The visor I had that I wore when going topless, doesn't fit right anymore.

Prior to the replacement of the top, the visor would find itself on the floor in the back where water would come in due to the tears in the old top. Then, I'd smash the visor by covering it with equipment or groceries or whatever else. It's rather misshapen at the moment. I attempted to wear it, but it digs into the right side of my face. I had a nice red welt when I last wore the thing. It shouldn't be that difficult to replace.

Riiiight. I spent 3 hours on Sunday wandering about the mall looking for visors. Now, I admit that I am being somewhat picky. I don't want just a visor. That won't stay on my face as I start zipping down the road at 70 miles per hour. What I would like, ideally, is a visor that looks like it used to be a baseball cap and they cut out the cap part, leaving a one inch strip around the cap and the bill. The back is adjustable so you can make it fit your head size.

I don't have prescription sunglasses which would sort of remove the need for a visor to shield my eyes from the sun. I tried a baseball cap, but I would have to do a "Harrison Ford" and staple the hat to my head to keep it from flying off. So, lacking the visor, I'm just tooling around in a windowless Jeep.

I did remember one of the other reasons taking the top off isn't so great when the temperatures soar into the 90's and beyond. If I park in the office lot with the Jeep facing west, I have to remember to bring a towel to sit on. Even pants don't ease the heat coming off the front seat after a day spent in the sun.

Beverage:  Water

Deb

Another Right of Summer

That's right. That's an A&W Root Beer Float. I bought the best vanilla ice cream I could find and let it sit out for about 10 minutes so it was soft on the sides. It was NOT Haagen Das. It wasn't even Oberweis. It was the Dominicks store brand. Just the right amount of vanilla for me and on sale when I got it. It will be perfect when I make cobbler, if I ever get around to doing that. I will have to eat it up because you know ice cream gets funny when it has those crystals on the top of it. But, I digress.

My before the holiday grocery shopping included this soda. It's July 4th. Root beer, in case you don't know, is a distinctly American invention. You will not find it in Great Britain. Well, you might find it in stores catering to an American audience, but the average Englishman or woman has never heard of this, least of all tasted it. The last time we went to England, in 1996, we took along a can of root beer, A&W, to be exact, to be shared with my late pen pal and her family. It was put in the fridge and, a day later, when it was all nicely chilled, we opened the top as you would open a bottle of wine. The can was passed around the table and everyone got a whiff.

"Ewwww."

"Gross."

"Well, that's ... um ... different."

"You actually drink this?"

Then, we poured a swallow or two into glasses for everyone and had them take a taste. I remember the kids trying to hold their noses while drinking it. I think they all swallowed. I don't actually remember. We were thanked for a distinctly American soda and the three of us; my ex, Carole and I, split the rest of the can. My pen pal's family watched in astonishment as we actually drank our share down in one gulp. I think we mentioned that we pour the beverage over ice cream which garnered stares of "Yes, they are mad but she's mum's friend so we'll be polite."

With the power going out July 1st, I didn't get around the the root beer float until yesterday. I don't have a frosty mug. I have these tall glasses I got in college which are distinctly collector's items now. Two scoops of vanilla ice cream and fill the rest of the glass with root beer. Scoop off the foam and let it settle a bit and add more root beer. When you have half ice cream and half  root beer, find the last straw you have in the house, take the glass and go sit in the living room with  a cat sticking her nose into the foam because obviously, what you have is something she has to have. Once she leaves, savor the flavor.

It was 98 outside yesterday afternoon but who cares. I had a root beer float. Quintessential summer. Plus, there's more ice cream and root beer to use up although I'm out of straws.

Beverage:  water

Deb

Only One Got Done

It was supposed to be a reasonably decent weekend, meaning no oppressive heat. Yeah, and I'm the Easter Bunny.

Saturday, we got much needed rain in the form of small showers. It wasn't nearly enough to green up the grass, but none of it went to waste. I couldn't be outside, pruning back the overgrowth or fixing the pig and chicken as I would like. I also noticed there are probably wasps setting up shop in the garden shed so I'll have to spray them and "invite" them to move along.

Sunday dawned warm and humid but with no wind. So that's the perfect day, in spite of the heat, to get one small outdoor project done.

I have this pig and this chicken small statues on the deck steps. I got them a decade ago when visiting a then friend in Port Perry, Ontario, Canada. They are reinforced plaster. I remember the artist's card that came with them saying they will adopt "character" as the years passed by. I looked at them and could see the years sloughing off more bits and pieces and, eventually, I'd have nothing. So, I decided to refresh their coat of paint to make them more non-winter-hardy. Once the weather turns cold, they are put in storage. I don't leave them outside in the winter. If I had room for them, I'd put them on display in the house. Alas, they spend their winter in the shed with the lawn furniture and flower pots.

Ten years have given them "character" but I preferred them to be the solid color they once were. In looking at the chicken, there is gray and aqua blue and a white, probably a primer. What color to paint them? After standing in the spray paint aisle for a good 15-20 minutes and having 3 people ask me if they could help me, I decided on this color. There was no light gray. There was a "silver" but that was, silver. There were several variations, owing to three different manufacturers of spray paint, of dark gray. I wanted a light blue gray. The front steps color is too blue and not enough gray. I should have brought one of them to the store. They could have mixed me a quart of the desired gray which would have matched, perfectly, what they were before being sprayed. But, I didn't think of that at the time and wanted spray paint so it would be easy to do. That was Sunday's project.

The heat made the paint dry quickly. It took a couple hours to do both as they have so many nooks and crannies that I had to spray each side many times to get every spot covered. Here they are painted.

And here they are on the steps.

You probably could say this is my "blue phase", with the steps being painted a color similar to this. I'm very happy with the result. they look fresh and new again. I figure the sun and rain will weather this color too and next year, I will probably have to do some touch up.

Personally, I think the pig even looks happier.

Beverage:  Water

Deb

Evidence of the Heat

I was headed to the basement to do a load of wash and glanced outside.

Whoa. Laundry can wait. 

At 10 a.m. on this Saturday morning, it was 91 degrees. Four hours later, the temps hover around the 100 degree mark. This doesn't bode well for my flowers. Each one of them, the geraniums and the pot by the deck stairs was given a full pitcher of water. I rinsed out and replaced the water in the bird bath too. I've seen a female cardinal and several chickadees drinking out of it so I'm trying to keep it full and fresh. It's been evaporating quite quickly in the heat. 

An hour later, the flowers looked so much better. 

Plus, the trees overhead had started to cast shade and that will help minimize evaporation. My small garden is doing well this year. I need to deadhead some flowers tomorrow when it's supposed to be cooler. We'll see. 

Beverage:  Blueberry juice

Deb

Dry

I believe I took the front windows off right around Memorial Day. I put them on, I think, the day after I took this photo, June 10th, but took them off again and haven't put them back on. If the top wasn't splitting along some seams, I'd have the top down.

It's dry, so very dry here. It's not quite the tinderbox that Colorado, Utah and New Mexico are but there was a report that fires and grills were going to be banned in forest preserves beginning this weekend. There will be no grilling for that family picnic for which you reserved your space back in February, on the first day you could reserve a space. It's just too dry. There is also talk that fireworks shows are in danger of being cancelled. The only "safe" place would be over the lake and I don't think the city of Chicago is doing fireworks at the end of Taste of Chicago anymore. I know that got axed last year in a budget cutting move. Navy Pier always does fireworks on July 4th, again off barges on the lake, so that may be the one place to see rocket's red glare.

It's to be 90 today and 104 tomorrow. I've had the windows open and the AC off the past 2 days. It was lovely this morning and had this been a weekend, I would have kept the windows open until around noon, when the heat begins to build. It will make the AC work less if it's cool inside. I closed up the house, checked to make sure the AC was set for 80 and came to the office where it was 68 in my section. I had to run my portable heater for a bit. The rest of the office is nice. My office is a refrigerator.

Weather people are likening this to the drought of 1988. In August of that year, we had something like 15 straight days of 100+ temperatures. I had a garden back then and I remember water rationing and trying to get the garden adequately watered on the days we could. Our ancient AC unit gave out on day number 10. The service man who came after the heat broke said the freon just gave out. We bought a window fan for the north window and set up other fans to suck the hot air through the house. We covered all the west and south windows to reflect the sun.

Funny how you get dependent upon the cooling ability of central air conditioning. I didn't have that growing up on the farm. I remember nights spent splayed across the bed wishing for any kind of breeze and moving every 10 minutes when your body heat had made the spot you were lying in warm. I can hear the buzzing of the insects from those hot summer afternoons spent lounging in the living room or on the front porch. I also remember Kool-Aid pops and Dad standing on the porch looking at the garden. "This hot weather is good for my tomatoes," he'd say. I remember walking to the corn fields after lunch and sitting under the canopy of stalks, the ground and air in the rows about 10 degrees cooler. You could hear the corn growing and the smell, oh the smell of the earth is a smell I love.

I also love the smell of the earth and the air after a heavy rain born of the clash between hot and cold. The ground almost sizzles when the first line of water hits. I remember a few times being in town and watching the steam rise off pavement and sidewalk after a summer rain during a heat wave. The smell of water and earth is intoxicating.

I'm watering my deck flowers but not the yard. I think watering a lawn is silly and a waste of water. It will return to green once the rains come. If it doesn't, reseed. Put in something that goes dormant in these hot Midwest summers, something that you don't have to water. I should wash the Jeep this weekend. That ALWAYS brings rain, right?

Beverage:  Raspberry Earl tea

Deb

Book Fair Preparations

Now, I haven't done anything like this in a couple years. Walking, until I got my RA meds stabilized, was a problem. I still have to watch how much I do and make sure I locate, at festivals, where there is a place to sit if I need it. It was to be in the upper 80's, low 90's at the book fair this weekend. I refuse to pay $2.50 for a bottle of water so I needed to be prepared.

Step 1 - after showering, a liberal application of sunscreen.

I even remembered the back of my neck and what skin was visible above my tee shirt collar.

Step 2 - Pick a canvas bag to carry all your stuff in. You don't need to be taking their plastic bags. If they had a canvas bag, I had to either buy it or it was too small for my needs. I pulled this one out of my grocery stash.

Step 3 - Hydration. I brought my own water, water that was chilled in the fridge for 18 hours. The one thing I was worried about was the water sweating as it warmed up. I had my wallet, my camera and my cell phone in this bag. I didn't want them getting wet from condensation. I remembered an old trick we used to do when you'd send thermos jugs of water into the field for the men mowing hay. Wrap the bottles in something to provide a bit of insulation. Viola.

Two dishtowels wrapped around the two water bottles and secured with a rubber band each. The water was still cold when I opened the top of one about half-way through my wanderings.

Step 4 - Comfortable walking shoes and cotton socks that wick the sweat off the feet and into the socks. If I'm going to be on my feet for a couple of hours, I want to enjoy it.

Step 5 - A hat.

I grabbed my Blue Angels visor which is always on the stick shift of the Jeep, and tossed it into the bag. I wound up not wearing it because I was inside tents most of the time. I probably should have worn it as I felt a bit fried on the way home, but I had it with me in case it was something I wanted.

I also had band-aids in my wallet in case I developed a blister and I had cash on me instead of just traveling with debit card. Every place I wandered into took credit/debit cards but it's too easy to overspend. I had x number of dollars and, when that was gone, it was time to go home.

I was rather proud of myself for my preparation. It worked perfectly. Although I felt flushed on the drive back home after the fair, it was just heat and the cooling down after being out in the sunshine and warm temperatures. Once I cooled down, my face wasn't red and I didn't come back with a sunburn. This is certainly the route I will take for future summer events.

Beverage:  Huckleberry tea

Deb

One Thermostat Later

It was chilly in the house this morning. Friends invited me for dinner last night. I debated. I didn't want to leave the girls but it wasn't cold in the house. With the little space heater and the oven going, the north end of the house was a nice 68. The south part of the house hovered around 62-64. You could tell the difference immediately when you walked down the hall. They were giving the heater wide berth so I knew there was no danger of them knocking it over and they would be comfortable. Plus, I would have sat here and stewed and cried and stewed. I accepted the invitation. I did turn off the oven before I left.

My friends loaned me another small space heater to keep the bedroom at 68. The living room was still 68 when I got home but the rest of the house hovered around 60. I bundled up, tossed another blanket on my bed and prepared for a night's sleep. The space heater had not been used in awhile so I blew out all the dust and set it up.

About 1 a.m., I was awakened by a pop and the smell of something burning. I have not moved that fast since April, before I fell. My friend's space heater had died. I guess I owe them another one. Fortunately, these aren't that expensive.

I didn't sleep very well. I tossed and turned and kept waking up, worrying and falling back asleep. I got up at 7:50 so right at 8 a.m., I could call a repair guy. The place that sold me the furnace, some 6 years ago, was nowhere in the yellow pages. I went downstairs and called the number on the sticker they attached to the furnace. Yes, they could come out but this was holiday time and the service fee BEFORE they told me what was wrong was $195. I told the guy I'd have to think about it. I called another company, Four Seasons. Their diagnostic fee was $85 and then they would give me options for fixing what was wrong. I didn't have to think twice.

The guy arrived right before the Iowa-Nebraska game kicked off. He determined my thermostat was shot. This kind of didn't surprise me. It was the original thermostat from when the original central air was purchased in the early 1970's. I have often wondered just how reliable it was. I was not offered a new thermostat when I bought my furnace. "We can use this one," I was told.

I have x amount of dollars to work with thanks to the surprise generosity of some friends. If I bought the cleaning package, they would, for me, waive the diagnostic fee, clean my furnace, install the thermostat and come back in the spring to service the air conditioning unit. This plan took most of my dollars but it seemed to be the best value for me. I have a humidifier attached to my furnace but I couldn't afford to have that cleaned so he detached it from the furnace. In the spring, when they come to clean the AC, I can have them reattach and clean the humidifier.

It took him 2.5 quarters to get everything done. I have since cranked the heat up to warm up the back end of the house. I think I will leave the temp high for the rest of the evening to make sure the house is up to temperature and then turn it down at bed time to where I want it. He said there was nothing else wrong with the furnace but I do need to replace the filter. Normally, you would replace it every 3 months, but with a long haired black cat living with me, I should think about replacing it every other month. I just replaced it in October, but I can understand fur.

So, that was a positive experience. I am set for the winter. If you ever need heating or AC service, consider them. There is no extra charge for diagnostic calls at any time; day, night or holiday. He said they don't have to charge extra because they have enough technicians, that they can always be working. He was friendly and personable and efficient. Pilchard even came out to say, "Hello". Mija disappeared completely.

I have heat again. I was doing okay with a space heater and the oven but having uniform heat in the house is wonderful. Now, if only Iowa had played like they were on fire. (sigh)

Beverage:  Edinburgh's Finest tea.

Deb

It Will Do

I don't think it's gas pressure. I have ample hot water and my water heater is gas. Therefore, I am looking at a repair. I realize I don't have $200 as I thought I did. My knee medication runs out on Sunday so I need to get that refilled. -$20. I am close to being out of gas in the car. I won't fill it but that's $30 I don't have for the furnace. Hence, we are down to $150 to fix whatever has broken. I can afford to have someone come and take a look and tell me what's wrong. I can't afford to have them fix it until next Thursday.

So, I made the decision to bring home the small space heater I have in my office. My office is always cold. It's usually 5-10 degrees colder than the rest of the office. This is a good little heater. I won't run it at night when I sleep but I will during the day when I'm home. We will have to see just how cold it gets with no heat over night and adjust things accordingly. It's hard for me to get up in the morning as it is, with the thought that the first action of the day, standing up, is painful. It's going to be doubly hard now when it's 50-odd degrees in my house in the morning.

I'll just adapt and figure this out so I can tough it out until I get paid.

Beverage:  none

Deb

Not A Happy Thanksgiving

Once again, I find myself struggling without an end in sight, without a way to surmount a problem. I get tired of constantly feeling beaten down, of having to fall back on "it is what it is", shrugging, and walking away to less than it was before.

It was chilly in the house this morning but that is often the case on cool mornings now. I checked the thermometer and it's reading 62. Well, that's not good. I can't get the furnace to come on. I have tried everything I know but nothing. We're up to 64 because I have the oven running at 200 and the oven door open.

Carole called to wish me a happy Thanksgiving and found herself trying to long-distance trouble shoot. I did, after 15 minutes of searching, find the model number of my furnace. I took the top door off the front to find the sticker and now, of course, can't get the door back on. It seems to me there is no 'pilot light', nothing that ignites the gas. And, no, there is no gas smell. That's always the first thing I check. I've pushed switches and toggled buttons but nothing. I felt badly for my daughter. She called to just chat and walked into a problem that has me in tears.

David wonders if all the gas use to cook turkeys today has the safety tripped. Once the cooking is over, perhaps the gas pressure will come back up and the furnace will kick in again. The other suspect is the pressure switch itself. It seems to be the most likely piece to break.

I'll just wrap up in extra blankets and clothes and hope, against hope because nothing really works out for me, that the furnace will kick in later. I have $200 to put towards a repair. That's it. It cleans me out completely. I would get paid in a week when I could afford more of a repair. That then gets into what does or does not get paid within the next month. The gas company can't shut off my gas in the winter so I have that going for me even if I can't pay the bill in full every month.

The weather is supposed to be in the upper 50's for the next few days with a chance of snow on Sunday. Next week, it's to be in the upper 30's and low 40's. The girls and I could handle this week. Next week might be tougher. Keeping the oven on helps with that part of the house but does nothing for the electric bill. I guess I can look at it that if I'm not using gas for the furnace, I don't have that expense.

I've been in my robe all morning. It's warm and comfy. I don't feel like a happy thanksgiving at all, but it is what it is. Time to make some tea.

Beverage:  none

Deb

That Time Again

This next week marks the official time to put up the window insulator kits. I must have 5 different rolls of the double sided tape used to attach the plastic to the windows. Somewhere, I have some plastic I didn't use last year. When I did every single window last year, I noticed a huge difference in the warmth of the house. So that is the goal this year. Get every single window covered. We've been blessed that it's not been that cold at the end of this fall. Some late falls have been cold and damp and that kind of chill just goes right through you.

I'm trying to keep the thermostat at 68-69. There is a problem with the furnace in that it will, on rare occasions, not come on. I have to go downstairs and reset it, sometimes two or three times before it will come on. I know it could use a thorough cleaning and I always intend to save up for that, but things have a way of happening and the money set aside for furnace and AC cleaning goes towards routing out the sewer line, as a for instance. I wear an extra layer in the winter and the girls are good at keeping themselves warm. So, we're going another winter without the cleaning and, I hope I can get it done in the spring.

Given that I have cold feet, I've been keeping a heating pad at the foot of the bed. When I went to visit mom, she put their ancient electric blanket on my bed. It was wonderful. I don't need it for my torso but it kept my feet an even temperature all night. A heating pad migrates depending upon where you happen to kick it. I should get an electric blanket.

I have started looking. This is probably a really good time to be looking as an electric blanket could be a Christmas present. If I wanted to navigate Black Friday at the mall, I probably could find a really good deal then, but, with my knees, Black Friday is the day I make sure all the windows are covered on the inside and work on sending out Christmas cards, not the day I spend walking about a mall. I've also considered getting just a "throw" size electric blanket. Since it's mainly my feet I'm concerned about, a throw would make a good lap robe during those cold January nights when I'm at the computer and raiding with my guild. Decisions. Decisions.

I have to be mindful of an increase in the cost for electricity. It really doesn't do you any good to be comfortable when your electric bill jumps by $40. A pair of slippers and an extra pair of socks is cheaper.

Beverage:  Earl Grey tea

Deb

An Afternoon with Ale

I know people are waiting for my photos and my reactions to the first annual Wheaton Ale Fest. Here goes post #1 in what will be a series of posts.

 

It rained Saturday morning and the threat of rain hung around all day. It was overcast by 12:30 which kept the temperature down. But the humidity! Oh the humidity. "Dripping" is a nice word to use. 85 degrees is fine but when the humidity is around 70%, it's still uncomfortable. The above photo is at Hale and Front Streets. 

My ticket said 12-5. It also said that VIP people would get in an hour earlier. It was not specified anywhere that I saw, that this 12-5 time included the VIP early arrival time. Plus, I received emails every day from July 30th, reminding me this was upcoming, that they were sold out of VIP tickets, that proper behavior was expected, that parking was here and here, etc. I found those emails to be very informative. For a festival revolving around alcohol, daily reminders that proper behavior was expected is not too much.

I am glad I arrived at 11, however. They started lining people up at 11:30. The real entrance was not clearly marked, something I pointed out in my post-event comments. A flag or some other marker would distinguish where the actual entrance was. People were going to the fence at the street, when the actual entrance was a few steps to the south. 

And to further discuss the event times, as we are standing on line, people who were not VIPs got in line since it was obvious this was the line going in. They had to be turned away and told to wait for an hour. 

We were processed through very efficiently. Because I had a VIP ticket, I got a lanyard, a heavy glass drinking glass and a tee shirt. I was supposed to get a sausage and cheese tasting but never found that. 

The tents visible at Hale and Front were the bigger brewers, Sam Adams and Goose Island. I know them. I've tasted their beers. I wanted the small craft beers. Those were across Main Street. 

The fest took up two blocks of Front Street, from Hale to Cross. This view, looking east, is where the micro/craft beers were located. I know this will sound really odd, coming from me, but this is where I did the majority of my drinking.

 

Each tent had two companies. I don't know how they decided who got which tent. I love dark beers so those were the ones I searched out first. I started with Grumpy Troll. I mean, with a name like that I had to stop there. Very nice. I tried Grumpy Troll's summer ale which had a honey flavor to it. It was nice but not something I'd regularly order.

I had an Emmett's Red which was too bitter for me. There was another dark from a brewery I didn't write down that I liked, a lot, and then an Old Brown Dog Ale that, while not the stout consistency, was a dark brown and very good. I also had Great White because they advertised it as a "citrus India Pale Ale" and the name is great. The combination just seemed strange enough that I would like it. I did. I wasn't sure I'd like a light colored beer but the distinct flavor of oranges and lemons was very nice. 

I went to Limestone Brewing Company. They did not have their dark beers with them so I tried The Wheatlander. It was okay, but I've had better German-inspired beer. At this point, I looked around and decided to head back the other direction and just see what Sam Adams and Goose Island had with them.

The press release on Sunday said 1700 people funneled through the festival. 

There were lines by some of the tents but they were not impossibly long. I think the most you had to wait was 2-3 minutes. Goose Island had a peanut butter beer. I kid you not. It was supposed to have a "delicate" peanut butter finish. I tasted the peanut butter, alright, and decided it was not for me. It's the only beer, out of all that I tried, that I did not finish. I added water to it and poured it out. 

I went to the Sam Adams tent and they had a beer with a pear finish. Having had Great White with the citrus overtones, I was interested to see how pear would work. It was okay. I can see people liking it but it's not a beer I would order.

After drinking the pear Sam Adams, it was now pushing 2:15 and my knees were beginning to ache. I had consumed enough, for me, and felt that I'd gotten a good value for my VIP ticket. So, I packed it in and headed home. Having arrived early, I found a spot on the street a couple blocks from the festival. This is the east end.

The people they had stationed at each end of the "blocks" were very knowledgeable, not only about the festival, but about downtown Wheaton in general. They often directed people to places in downtown or how to get around this event. 

Wheaton has a French Market every Saturday from May through October and it was going on at the same time as the festival. It ends at 2. That was a great idea because I saw people come from the market to the festival. 

Police presence was there and then it wasn't there. They directed traffic at Main and Front streets for sure, but there were uniformed officers walking with the crowd. They said hello to people and thanked them for coming to the festival, but they were not obtrusive. 

There were just enough volunteers to man all the booths and to do the things that needed to be done at a festival like this. One of the problems they had was not every brewer who sent their wares sent someone who knew about the beers or sent any kind of publicity. A few of the booths were manned by festival volunteers who said, "I don't know anything about the beers. I'm just here pouring them." That's too bad because so much of the presence of a craft beer is having someone who knows it tell you about it as they serve you. There were a couple of brewers who didn't show up, too. 

I saw on the Facebook page that people who arrived as I was leaving ran into the problem of some tents running out of beer. That is something I don't quite understand. The festival was limited to 2000 people. Surely you can plan for how much beer you need to serve 2000 people realizing that some will come back more than once and some people won't care to try what you have. 

Another thing I told them they need are cooling centers. I stopped to get some yogurt and there were 3 people inside the shop because it was air conditioned. If it had been one of those horribly hot July Saturdays we had, more people would have been in there. While that's probably good for his business, you don't want people collapsing from the heat. They should have gotten those mist towers and provided a place where attendees could go to recover from the heat. 

Bottom line, I had a great time. It was akin, in price, to attending a concert. I think it was a good value for how long I stayed and what I got. If I can afford it, I will go again next year. 

Beverage:  Earl Gray tea

Deb

It's Not Just Humans

This heat wave is not good for any animal or human. My girls will go as far as the back door's threshold, sniff the hot air, turn around and go back to the living room where it's much cooler than standing on the deck waiting for me to bring the recycling can to the back or unload my car. I know of one puppy who passed away due to heat stroke. It's just not good. But I never considered wild animals.

I was sitting at my computer and heard a commotion on the deck. There was a lot of chirping. I cautiously pulled back the window covering and a robin was in the birdbath while a male and female cardinal looked on. I can only assume they were chirping, "Hey, don't use up all the water."

Well, it occurred to me that birds need a source of fresh water for drinking just the same as any other animal on this planet does. I enjoy having the birdbath on the deck. Now that birds know it's there, they use it.

The thing I have to watch, though, is it can get gross. Here's the birdbath about mid-May. Birds have been using it and leaves have blown into it. It gets dirty and slimy. The good thing about spring is the amount of rain replenishes the bath so I don't have to do it. I do need to watch how the water looks. I dumped this out in the middle of a rainstorm and the rain filled it.

So, here we are in the middle of a heat wave. I realized that birds were depending upon this for bathing and probably drinking water. I cleaned it out and refilled it with fresh tap water. Yes, there are chemicals in the water; flouride, etc.; that make it fit for human consumption but which aren't necessarily the best for birds. But, I've been told those will evaporate out of the water when it's left like this.

After cleaning, the bath looked so much nicer. I wish I could take a photo of a bird enjoying it. I'm never fast enough.

It's a cloudy day today. We received a lot of rain overnight which would have replenished this bath a couple times over with rain water. Now the temps are slated to rise again. I'm sure it's appreciated, even if they can't tell me.

Beverage:  Orange Juice

Deb

Gotta Love Friends, Even If You've Never Met Them

I'm in my office yesterday, sorting through a bunch of proposals that need writing. The boss comes into my office chuckling. He hands me a rather fat envelope from corporate that has my name on it.

"Renee sent you something," he said.

I'm not expecting anything and Renee is on vacation so I'm more than a bit surprised.

I'm feeling the contents of this envelope and I'll bet you could see the light bulb come on over my head.

"It's a candy bar!" I said, excitedly.

Indeed it was; a King Size Hershey's candy bar.

Now, it's been excessively hot. The candy bar would have been dropped Friday into the packet that comes weekly from corporate. We get it on Monday. It would have sat around in a postal facility over a warm-ish weekend and then transported in an unairconditioned postal van to our office. We just picked the packet up when we saw it on the front desk and dropped it on the boss's desk where he opened it Tuesday morning.

Yes, it had melted and solidified. But you know what, I. Don't. Care. It's chocolate. It's from Renee. It was totally unexpected. It made Tuesday so much brighter.

Now, I need to think of something to send her.

Beverage:  English Breakfast tea

Deb

Welcome to Monday morning, grumble.

The radio comes on at 6. I listen to snippets of New Orleans' victory over Indianapolis last night in some sporting event I didn't watch. I listen to the local news discuss politics and then announce a "Winter Storm Warning" for a foot of snow heading my way. I'm aware that Mija is curled up right next to me and she's purring happily. I extend my hand and begin 15 minutes of ear scratching while the motor revs into overdrive. Flannel sheets are warm. I'm cozy. I have a deliriously happy cat next to me. Wait...it's chilly in here.

I listen. For the next 15 minutes, the only sounds are the jazz on the radio, Mija's purr and the sound of the fridge kicking in. It is chilly in here. Where's the sound of the furnace blower coming on? I keep the house at 68 but it still should be coming on about every 3-4 minutes. It runs for about 3-4 minutes and turns off. It's not coming on.

I leave the cozy warmth of the bed, grab my robe and check the temperature. It registers 62. Um...this is not good. I crank the thermostat up to 80 and just listen. Nothing. Oh dear. Pilchard looks up from her curled ball in the settee. She'd be warmer if she came to sleep next to me but Mija's there and we haven't created a truce in that area yet.

Immediately I wonder if I paid my gas bill. As I struggle through this difficult financial time, I'm tempted to alternate months of paying and not paying. I've decided that is not good so if a company will let me, I make smaller payments until I can make a larger one. The gas company I have always paid in full. And yes, not only did I make the payment, but it was credited to my account. Hmmm. It can't be the gas and I have electricity, something must be wrong. The furnace is only 5 years old so I guess something could break. But how will I pay for it when I have $6.00 cash and $2.10 in the checking account?

I turn everything off, at least everything I know how to turn off. My CO2 detector has not gone off and it does not appear to be a fuse. I wait 10 minutes and turn everything back on. Still nothing. I sit down in the settee feeling as if my world is collapsing on me. Pilchard climbs into my lap and lies down, purring. This is nice but I'm still upset.

I call a friend and start confiding my fears and I hear the blower kick in. The house fills with warm air. I have already called the office and said I'm not coming in until I can get whatever the problem is fixed. So, I call back and say the blower is working but I'm going to hang out for an hour just to be certain. I make breakfast and read a magazine while I eat my muffins. All the while, I've got an ear tuned to listening for the blower to come on.

After my somewhat leisurely breakfast, the house is warm again and the blower seems to be working as required. I cranked the heat up to 72 and then turned it down to 68. Shower and get ready for work and things still seem okay. Feed cats, assemble lunch, make tea. I'm good. But, that is NOT how I want Monday to start. Monday is bad enough on its own without adding another layer of stress on top of it.

I can survive if, for some reason, the furnace had a problem. I can "heat" the kitchen with the oven and I have a small one-room heater that I can move from room to room to keep warm as I move through the house. Keep a steady stream of water going from the taps if the temperature in the basement were to drop below freezing. I anticipate my tax refund soon and that would pay for a repair. I'll change the furnace filter when I get home as it's time anyway. I grew up with power outages all year 'round so I know how to cope. It builds character, my dad always said.

So, we shall see when I get home, if things are still good. One of my friends had a problem with her stove, a brand new stove, not coming on over the weekend. She turned it off and on and off and on, much to the chagrin of her spouse. Suddenly, it just started working again and there wasn't anything overt that she did.

I don't know who is next for the appliance gremlin but he's out there roaming about.

Beverage: China Black tea

Deb

Found!

In cleaning to bring the tree upstairs, I found the missing space heater.

Target had these for awhile. I don't know if they still do. $9.99 for a heater that heats just a small space.

I had one at work and two here at home. The heating elements died in one at work and one here and I couldn't lay my hands on the other one. I thought it was downstairs.

It was under a couple of boxes.

Now, my home office is toasty warm. I could use another that would stay in the bathroom for these chilly mornings.

Finding this makes the soreness from moving a lot of stuff to get to the tree worth it.

Beverage: Water

Deb

Fifty-eight

It's August. They don't call them the "dog days" for nothing.

Last night, it got down to 58. You read that right.

50 + 8 degrees. I have my house windows closed. My feet are chilled to the bone. I have been drinking hot tea like there is no tomorrow.

At 9:24 p.m. on Saturday, August 22, 2009, it is 64.

SIXTY-FOUR!

I don't EVER remember an August this cool. Cool nothing. This is COLD. It would definately be a 5 cat night. In fact, I remember wandering about the house looking for them to cover them with a towel to make sure they were warm. I'm going to have to wear socks to bed.

In August and not because my feet were dry and I had to put lotion on them.

Do I turn on the heat just to remove the chill?

In August?

Beverage: Assam

Deb

And the heat is still on...

Here is it, the end of May and I still have the heat on in the house. Granted, it only comes on after 8 p.m. and kicks on only sporadically, but it's May for pete's sake. It should be always above 60 at night, not 52, like it was last night.
I have a small space heater in my office and that's on, but it tends to be on all year 'round. When the AC finally kicks in, it gets really cold in my office in the morning. In the winter, the big windows to the southwest leak like cheesecloth so I have to have additional heat.
It's also gray and overcast and rainy and I have a headache.
The heavy cold is breaking up. You all know the feeling. I'm going from the completely stuffed head to the not stuff head but it's draining so I'm coughing again, a lot, and it's random and it can be debilitating. That's probably why I have a headache, the sloshing of the brain when I cough.
I have nothing to do at work today, nothing. I could clean a bit in my office. I do have a proposal to write and a report to UPS, but that's it. I have letters to write. Yes, I still write letters because, even in this technological age, I have friends who appreciate sitting down with paper and words and cups of tea and reading what I have been up to. I actually thought of bringing some of my magazines to work so I could wear down that pile. I probably could. Tomorrow, I have to go into the city and visit one of my projects, but, for today, I sit...and sit...and sit...

Tea flavor: English Teatime and I'm out so I have to nuke some water. I'll make Lady Grey. It's a good thing I have no snacks in my desk. I'd be eating out of boredom.

Deb