Sorcererdale

We had called the HVAC service center to let them know and also our insurance company. (See last entry for what I am talking about.) We also checked with our insurance and the digger company, but neither will pay anything as they each said it was the others fault. Then we had trouble with the HVAC company arranging to get this done. I ended up talking and telling the story to 4 people and finally found out that some of them were the wrong people to be talking to, so when I got to the right person, things started getting set. I was called last evening about 8:00 and the guy said that there will probably be a cancellation today, and that two guys can come down and start the work.

I kept telling them that it wasn't going to cost as much as they kept telling me, because the guy who came to take the pictures didn't really understand the situation and made it sound a lot harder to fix than what I had determined. The two guys were here for about 4.5 hours and could use the pipes that came loose, and didn't have to move our furnace and water heater and all the attachments to the HVAC system. They reattached the pipes from the back of the furnace from the cold air return place which was large enough for them to get to where the pipes broke. Then they pressurized the pipes and found no leaks from what they fixed and no other leaks in the system. Then they flushed out the old coolant and water, because now they have something new that gives better heat transfer and so our system should work even better.

Now, jumping back a few days for more stories. Wednesday, after I was at Anytime Fitness, I picked up Brandon from school and after eating supper, we went to the Spring Choral concert at the high school. He appreciates us being there, and makes sure he finds us in the audience. Thursday we took a water sample and brought it to the water treatment plant in Marquette for testing for bacteria and if the water is safe for drinking. Then we had some errands and places to be, did some shopping and ate lunch at WalMart McDonalds. We also did our grocery shopping and came home.

Now that leads us back to today, which I mostly told you about. We did get a phone call around noon that our water was safe to drink. The water from the kitchen tap still seems to have a slight odor and not as good taste as we had before, but that's the furthest from the well and has many more pipes to travel through that still may be giving off some rust and other chemicals from the bleached water that ran through them to decontaminate any bacteria that may have gotten into the system. We do have good pressure, now, and the massage part of the shower head can at least be felt and things that we put water in, fill up quite fast. The best part is being able to run water in two or more locations in the house at the same time and still have pressure. We also don't hear our water pump run anymore as it is in the ground, 40 feet down instead of in the crawl space area under our house.

I guess no one really has missed these journal entries because the last time I wrote was two weeks ago. I do see from my Google Calendar that on Friday night, May 11 we went to Marquette and I don't remember what we did, but we had extra time and must have done some shopping, clock work - maybe and I think we drove around Presque Isle. That evening we saw the Marquette Male Chorus and then came home. I must have done something outside on Saturday as I remember it was really nice. Saturday evening we went to the Negaunee Male Chorus.

On Sunday, May 13, we went to A&M Cafe for Mother's Day breakfast and then to church. I was going to have Brandon come over and help rake our yard, but he was busy and couldn't. So I must have worked out side on some projects or something, it's really hard to remember when I don't write often. Tuesday, May15 Sally was in Rock at the Finnish Mission Circle to play the piano for them and I went to Negaunee for a haircut, a couple of clock deliveries or fixes and then to Marquette for some other clock work and errands. On Thursday, May 17, the well drillers came and drilled our well. They only had to go down 40 feet, which was good, because the neighbors on both sides of us had to go 80 feet. That sure was interesting to watch how that big equipment works. They were coming back next week then, to finish the job.

Rick came home on Friday, May 18, just in time for us to leave for some friends re wedding ceremony so they were in compliance with the Catholic Church. That was a fun evening and we had tons of food to eat. We had sauna when we got home. Saturday Sally had stitching in Marquette and I raked the yard. I raked a little over half of the front yard and just put the pine needles and old leaves into piles. That was a day that it was around 85 degrees F, so I really didn't work outside very long for each time I went.

I picked up Brandon about 4:30 and then I grilled hamburgers for supper. That evening was the Big Sing, where numerous male chorus groups sang at the Gwinn High School and Brandon was with the select male chorale. On Sunday we had church, I was the reader and communion assistant. By the time we got home, we didn't have a lot of time and we all left again. Sally and I were delegates for our church for the Synod Assembly. She had to be there early, 3:00,to rehearse for what she was doing to help during the church service that evening. Then we had some time, so we went around Presque Isle, and then ate at the Villa Capri for Sally's graduation present from Rick and I.

By then it was time for Synod Assembly church service to start, which was followed by the first plenary session for the assembly. Later, Sally was given a certificate for completing her classes for lay school and is now a graduate. Monday morning, May 21, Rick left for home and Sally and I were at the meeting and voting day of the assembly by 7:50 a.m. The assembly ended at 4:30 and we did some grocery shopping and then ate at Arby's. Finally we made it home and spent the evening watching tv.

Today, Tuesday, May 22, the well driller people came back to connect the pump and water line to our water lines in the house. Our old well was a point, which means it was hand drilled years ago and was actually under our laundry room floor. We did have a "well hole" there so one could go down into a 3' X 4' area and work on the system. While the back hoe was digging the 6 foot deep trench from the well to the house, the plumber was disconnecting the old pump and filling in the old well. Suddenly I heard a noise and yelling outside. Unbeknownst to me, our HVAC ground source heat pump water lines got pulled up. I always thought they went out a different area from our crawl space.

So I quickly shut off our HVAC system and went out and looked more. Luckily the pipes came apart just before the big distribution manifold, but the force was so great from the backhoe that the pipes were pulled right out of the back of our furnace. Wait for that story tomorrow when we find out what damage was done. The HVAC company came today to do a preliminary report of what needs to be done to repair it. They then had to dig carefully around it.

When the new water line and electric wire were ready to be pulled into the crawl space, I was the only one that could fit down there and through the small, 2' X2' opening into the crawl space. The sand floor is covered with a sheet of plastic to prevent moisture from coming out of the ground into the house, but that was a couple inches deep with anti freeze and water from the pipes that were pulled out from the HVAC. I finally managed to slither over to where the new water line was coming in and pulled the pipe over to the plumber in the little well hole area. Another thing I noticed while I was down there was that when the HVAC pipes got pulled out, they also hit or caused a few HVAC cold air return pipes to come apart, so they will have to be fixed too. Also, at some point, the stupid squirrels have gotten in down there, and ate up, tunned through, and cause most of the insulation under the floor to fall down as it is all deteriorated. So that, too, will all have to be pulled out and replaced.

I don't know if I can do it with my slight emphysema as I was hardly able to breath from all the slithering just to get to the water pipe. They did get the plumbing hooked up with only minor leaks and problems, but to clean out the pipes from them handling them, drilling the well, and welding on the pipe casing, they pour a half gallon of bleach down there to kill the bacteria. We had a hose running for 3 hours today, outside to get most of the bleach out, but then I had to leave so turned it off. We are noticing that our toilets, now have a rusty colored water in the bowl, from the rusty tank insides and we still smell bleach. Tomorrow I will have to run the hose some more and get that bleach out of the system. We also can't drink the water yet, especially now with the bleach in it, and can't really drink it until the health department gets a sample of the water and says it is safe.

Besides having to do the new well because the old was too close to the drain field of the septic tank, we were also running out of water at the 14 foot level of the hand point, because water levels have dropped so much in the area from lack of rain and snow. We also couldn't run the washing machine and flush a toilet at the same time due to the low pressure and lack of water which caused air bubbles in the lines. Now we have enough to flush two toilets at one time while a garden hose was running full force. We can't wait to see how washing clothes will be.

This evening we had a special theater meeting to do some planning for extra sources of income and get an update on events that are happening this summer. I will try to update on Wednesday night about the rest of this adventure.

Saturday evening was our last two shows of "Evil Dead, The Musical." We had a midnight one too. That sure was a lot of fun watching that show for 7 times. We had a lively audience for the Saturday evening show and for the midnight one there were lots of ad libs and gallons of blood. Sunday it rained all day so I couldn't get any of that yard work done that I mentioned in the last journal.

Oh, when we got home from church on Sunday, MissDig was here finally marking the electric, phone and cable lines so they could dig for our septic system. The contractors had brought over the back hoe and also dumped a huge pile of gravel in our driveway, which I already posted a picture on fb.

On Monday, it was rainy again, so they couldn't start on our septic system. But today, at 8:00 a.m., the septic tank pumper truck was here and so we couldn't run any water or flush any toilets until the new tank, at least, was in. So one proof that our septic tank failed was that after it was pumped, water ran back into the old, round, metal tank from the drain field and also seeped back in from the rusted sides of the tank. Then a new hole was dug for the 1000 gallon, cement tank. With new health regulations, it had to be further from the house, even though we don't have a basement, and so the hole is further away. At 11:00 the new tank arrived on a huge truck that had a lift and slider system built on it to move out and lower the tank into the hole. I have pictures of all this, but they aren't ready for showing, and it's not that exciting to see.

That was lined up to connect to the extended pipe from our house and leveled in the ground. At least the new ones don't need to be dug up or uncovered from the dirt to pump out, inspect or clean the filter that goes to toward the drain field. So we could once again run water and flush the toilet. The rest of the afternoon was spent, until 6:00 p.m. or later, in digging the drain field which will now be under part of our clothesline area, so we should get nice grass there. They had to take our clothesline poles down, and we thought we could reuse them, but they are in pretty bad shape, so I will have to get rid of the old ones and then buy new wood and make new ones.

Our phone line was also cut in this process, which we knew it would be. We have tried and tried to get AT&T to put in a new line when the new electric and cable was installed in the ground, but they had canceled the appointment and couldn't make it then. So when the guy came out to see what I was talking about, he said, well, now you will just have to call when it is cut and we'll come out and fix it. But now they have to hand dig a trench, watch out for all the other wires and electric service and work around the drain field. It's going to cost them way more money and time and now need MissDig to come out again and remark where everything is. I wonder how long this is going to take? We were already without a phone for a week when they were moving wires from an old pole to a new one and the guy jokingly said, "I hope I don't get the wires mixed up." He did and it took a week for them to fix it, partly because we didn't use the phone and didn't know it was out. We do have cell phones, but still get calls on our land line.

I have already called the well driller, because we have to move our well due to health regulations about distances from a septic field and our well is too close, but we couldn't put the septic field in any other place without having to pump it and have more problems later with mechanical failures and frozen lines in the winter. Soon all this will be done and we can start getting our lawn back into grass and get on with other projects.

It seems I keep forgetting to write, and then I check and it has been two weeks since I wrote last. That makes it hard to remember what I am doing. It's also getting harder to remember what I have done since I post to Twitter for many updates and so I don't remember to post here too. I see that happening with many people who used to do LJ more often. Well, let's see what I can remember.

I do know that "Evil Dead, The Musical" started at the Vista Theater on Thursday, April 26. There hasn't been a big attendance because I think people hear the name and if they don't know about this show, think it is something not worth seeing. But it is a big comedy with high energy from the actors and a very popular show. Brandon has been helping in concessions and is such a good popcorn maker and assistant manager of it. Then Saturday night I left the theater early to go to Red Lobster and meet up with Sally and others from the Marquette Choral Society's concert group. On Sunday, after church we had time to come home and then go right back up to Marquette for the second concert. I had time to go to this one, but had to drop Sally off early. I took a trip around Presque Isle, which was strange to see without the ferns and tree leaves. It's sooo open. Then I did some shopping and errands and went to the concert. Since this was their 40th year, we had a real nice reception after at UpFront.

I have also been dealing with service companies in trying to get things ready for our septic system install and new well. The power company finally came and put in their wires and dropped the cable in for our tv and computer. But the phone company, AT&T, canceled their time here and so we still don't have the phone line moved. When the digging starts for the drain field, I think they will cut and dig up that cable. The phone company said they'll come then and put a new one in, but now they will have to hand dig the long trench to do so. Also, Charter, didn't come and hook up our cable, as that got cut when the power company dug the trench for the new wires. They promised it would be done by 8:30 that same day, but they didn't show up.

I called numerous places on Friday and then on Saturday I went to the library and finally found an on line chat to Charter support and explained what was going on, and that they kept breaking their promises. When I mentioned, and I would have done it, a letter to the editor about their non support of customer service, was when I was finally given a supervisors supervisor with a promise again, of getting it done. She didn't call as she said to let me know the update, but when we came home from church on SUNDAY, the cable was hooked up. The health inspector was here the end of this week and approved everything is ready for the septic system. That is supposed to start on Monday, but with 3 calls to MissDig, the company that marks where cables and electric wires are, hasn't shown up yet and were supposed to be here last Wednesday.

When I called, the phone message said it is quicker and no waiting time if the on line form is filled out instead of waiting on the phone. That's what I did, but when I called to see why they hadn't come, they said they never got the on line form. They said they'd rush it through and it should be done by 8:00 a.m. yesterday morning - it wasn't and still isn't. They better do it by Monday morning as it would be a big mess if the guy digging for our septic system drain field hits the newly laid electric wires or our tv and computer cable.

Other than that, I have to clean up around the area our well will be going, get the yard raked and some other work done. My "Little Brother" owes me some money, so I he's going to work some of it off, tomorrow, if it doesn't rain. I have the last night of "Evil Dead" tonight, with a double feature, and then this coming week all the septic work and then start getting the well driller schedule worked out.

Well, since April 8, it might be hard to remember all of the things that I have done, but I'll give it a shot. I guess the biggest one is that on Thursday, April 12, Sally and I headed to Rick's house, stopping in St. Ignace to pick up Chris, a friend of mine. I then dropped Sally off at Rick's and Chris and I went and ate at Culvers. From there we headed to Novi, MI for Furry Connection North. Our GPS on my phone had the right address, but took us to an empty field, 15 minutes from where we were supposed to be. I reentered the information and then we got there. There were lots of panels to attend, former friends to hang out with and I met many new ones.

I had awesome roommates and they want to room with me again when ever we attend MFF in November in Chicago. I watched a friend turn liquid nitrogen into liquid oxygen in one of the hallways of the convention. He's the one who did the Will It Blend show and Will it Freeze. Included below is Fizz, "drinking" liquid nitrogen and blowing it out of his mouth. {Don't do that at home or any where else!} His company is making the new USB Plasma Trim, Controllable LED Accent Lighting which I helped start up by using the KickStart program. I donated money for the startup of the business, and then I receive some of the product. I believe I can use it in my Christmas Light Show. He also has many of his company's Laser Light Show control units in use at Disney World and he provided the laser lights for the rave dances, which I just love the music and to watch the laser lights. Also a video at the end of this post.

While at the con I had an artist draw my fursona instead of having a badge drawn. After 4 days at the con, Chris and I headed back to pick up Sally and then we headed home on Monday, April 16, as she had to get back to Marquette for Choral Society practice. On Wednesday I had X-Rays done for my chiropractor and then I had my back adjusted. That was followed by another 30 minute massage. Things are getting better and easier for him to work on me.

I had a little cough when I went to the con, but the other day it got worse and I had trouble catching my breath after coughing hard and nothing coming out. So Friday night, about 10:00 we decided to go to ER and have a chest X-Ray and tests to see if it was anything serious, since I do have slight emphysema. The tests proved ok, and it wasn't anything really serious, but they did put me on steroids for a week, and that started helping shortly after. I had been sleeping on the recliner due to the coughing I would do when I laid down. Last night I made it in bed until about 5:15 a.m., and then just came down stairs again.

Today I took the junk out of the old outhouse we still had, just for storage, though, and brought it to the recycle/garbage place. There was 80 pounds of old windows, old and damaged Christmas Light Show items, and old flying saucer and plastic tray sleds that were cracked and damaged. This afternoon, Brandon and I will turn on the water at the theater and do some digging in our yard. I have been trying to coordinate the electric company, AT&T and Charter for when the power company puts in our new cable so we can put in the new septic system. That sure is a hard thing to do, as each company took almost an hour to get through. Charter just kept saying, "Well, if the cable gets cut, call and we'll come out and repair it." I replied, "Yes, it WILL be cut as the power company is coming to dig for new wires and so they have to dig up the old cables." It took a long time for them to figure out what is going on. Then this morning we get a call from Charter and they said they had a work crew with nothing to do, and wanted to know if they could come today and install the new cable. I replied, "NO, the trench won't be dug until next Thursday when the power company comes to start the work!"

I guess I don't know how to post a video right here, so here are the links.

http://youtu.be/QLB4U7IeHg0

http://youtu.be/3eympLS2U54

I was coming home from Houghton, Mi the other night and told my friends when I left, give me good thoughts not to hit a deer, not even thinking that part of the area is moose country. Well, I am driving about 1:30 in the morning, there's a full moon, but other than that, the black road and silhouette of the tree line was all I could see.

I was just getting to a passing lane area and decided to stay in the lane closest to the center in case there were any deer coming out from the side. Then suddenly in front of my Jeep, just near the center line, I saw 4 long legs that were as high as the roof of my Jeep. My mind raced, I said to myself, "That's a Moose!" Then reaction action went into play for both of us. I swerved to the next lane, (luckily there was one) and the moose swung his big head up and away and we both missed each other. If he hadn't lifted his head like that, his jaw, mouth and nose would have come through my windshield. Luckily he was just standing there and not moving. He probably heard my deer alerts and was wondering what I was coming down the road. I have told my story now, can you imagine what the moose is telling his friends!

Just some notes on the past few weeks. Friday night we saw "Fiddler on the Roof" at the Gwinn High School and we took my little brother to see it also.

Sunday, March 25, we drove a couple of hours to go to our former Pastor's new churches where she had her installation program. It was nice to see her again, although it hasn't been that long since she left our church and it was nice to meet up with members of her new congregations. We went there one way through the back roads and woods, and came home a different way, so that broke up the trip a little bit.

On Monday, March 26 I had another Chiropractic appointment and another good half hour massage. Both the chiropractor and the massage guy are thinking about how my right arm has gotten cold and numb and still gets cold occasionally, that it might be due to scar tissue from a fatty lump removal in my neck that is causing pressure on a nerve. The massage guy really had to work on some spots in my neck and shoulder and one long section of my right back. The next time I go I will have X-Rays of my back and more consultation to figure this out.

Each weekend I have been making it a point to get some bigger project started or off my list if it could be completed in a weekend. That's been a good feeling to get bigger projects and ones that I have been wanting to do for some time, done or at least started. One is finally upgrading and updating our theater web site. This past Sunday, though, we had a longer church service than other days since it was Palm Sunday and we did the Passion reading instead of the Gospel. I played the role of Jesus and did try to put some voice action instead of just reading the parts. Later in the afternoon we went to Rock to hear the Cantata that Sally's sister directs and her other sister and our nieces and wife of a nephew sing. That is always so awesome to hear and the 15 - 20 people they have make it sound like a huge choir!

Today was an awesome day, besides it being my birthday. Just everything went great, the sun came out, received tons of greetings on facebook, twitter, and in email. Even if I did our theater bookkeeping, bank reconciliation, and reports for our meeting tonight, it was fun. I had a couple of clock customers pick up their clocks, I worked on some clocks, even if I do that every day, things seemed to go better today. Then this afternoon we went to Marquette, Sally did some craft shopping and I picked up a couple of clocks from the drop off point, and then I was treated to my birthday dinner. I decided on The Great Hunan, as you can tell, Oriental food. From there we stopped at Super One and bought a small birthday cake.

Then we went to our theater board meeting. I am the treasurer and lobby manager, but Sally just came along because she was with me. We had a good meeting as always, and they are so relaxing and fun, but yet we accomplish a lot. But this was a first for me, and it was so nice having a birthday get together with the current board. Sally left part way through the meeting to get some ice cream, and I had plates, spoons, and a cake cutter utensil with us. After the meeting I surprised the board with a birthday "party" for me! That was awesome and will be very memorable!

Sunday, I did get the rest of the Christmas light show stuff down AND put away! I was pretty tired from doing most of it on Saturday.

Tuesday I did some clocks in Harvey and Marquette and ate at McDonald's and enjoyed my Shamrock shake! Then I went and had a massage from Andy at what used to be called McLeans Family Chiropractic, but now it is owned by a new guy and the name of the business is Superior Family Chiropractic. I haven't had a massage in about 10 years. I found out a bunch of health things about me that I didn't know, and what a knot or tightness is and what happens to it. First of all, I have had some tingling in my right arm and it being cold and numb. It hasn't for awhile but the doctors did MRI and CAT scans and found nothing. I even had a neurological test done. Nothing.

Well, Andy noticed that I had scar tissue on my neck from a fatty lump that was removed years ago. Under that area which is by my right arm, was the most knots and tenseness he's ever seen. He worked on my back, neck, but mostly that area for a good half hour. The reason the lumps or knots are there is that the muscle gets stuff in it that is not good and solidifies. They are actually breaking that "bad stuff" up and out of the muscle. I need to go back a couple more times, with in a few weeks. Then maybe once a month for awhile. He said that scar tissue can interfere with nerves and blood vessels and that may be why my arm was going numb.

I had to drink 3 bottles of water after the massage to rinse out the toxins in my body that he worked out of my muscles, other wise I could end up with a severe headache or just get sick. I sure was sore today, but later this afternoon we went for a walk around the Girl Scout Camp road and I got to use my new MyTracks which showed where we walked on a map, and gives all sorts of stats. I posted it earlier on Twitter and fb. That helped loosen me up a little and also the sauna we had tonight, really helped too.

So they say that things happen in threes. I am hoping that our house control problems was number one, but that happened in December/January. So then during the last snow storm we had, my plow truck's drive shaft rusted in half and fell out. Luckily our neighbor plowed our yard and so far we have had an early spring. I should say, almost summer with no spring. Just suddenly it was 80 degrees for a few days and is still nice. Then this past week we have noticed our downstairs toilet would flush really slowly and then bubble and gurgle when it finally went down.

That's an indication something is blocked or blocking the outflow pipe. I tried plunging it and waiting a day or two, but still it did the same thing. I was afraid of what it really meant, which is that our septic tank is full or not working. So tonight I dug the dirt off the cover area which is only about 8 inches down, and we mostly have sandy dirt around here, so it wasn't hard to do at all. But our septic tank is one of the old ones, from my guess, of about 52 years ago. It's an old metal barrel type structure of about 6 or 7 feet deep by 6 feet in diameter. The last time we had it pumped, they said if it is pumped again it will cave in, since the metal is rusted and only the water and crap is holding it in place. There's also tree roots and actual dirt on the insides of the tank. We did have a new drain field put in some time ago, but now that is what looks like it has failed as the water isn't going out of the tank. The tank is full and could possibly over flow if nothing is done to fix it.

There was nothing I could do except say that it sure stinks and it isn't working right. I tried to set the round metal cover back onto the tank, so no one falls in or an animal walks on it, but the cover just folded in half and sunk to the bottom. I did find some "tin roofing" to put over it, but it won't hold anyone nor does it keep the smell in. So in the morning we have to call the septic guy and see about a new installation.

The biggest news is that I got our automated house working, again. Everything seems to work, and it works even better than it has in many years. I think that things have been dying, slowly for a long time. It is so nice to hear our house talk again. I finally got rid of the mixed voices for some of the things, like when it tells us the temperatures, and I no longer have mine or our son's voice (sorry, or maybe good, as it is weird to hear ones own voice as if it were the house's voice). I have added a few things, made some commands better and now will be hiring a "professional" programmer that knows about making the commands shorter and more concise and so they take up less space and make things work quicker and better.

Friday I picked my "little bro" up from school after he intentionally stayed after school to get help with his homework and try to get some papers caught up. The secretary of the school even promised him homemade cookies if he stayed on a Friday. He did and his friend didn't, so he got a whole plate full of cookies! Then he came here for a while and then we went to dinner at Pizza Hut in Ishpeming and then to Negaunee HS to see, "Oklahoma."

Today was an amazing day in da U.P. It was 80 degrees F at one point, but mostly in the 70's. We normally don't get weather like this until late April or even into May. We still have big snow banks from where the plows pushed all the snow, and some in the woods and shady places, but it is melting fast. Our lake ice is even gray/blue looking which means it is getting mushy and unsafe to be on. I had on my list to get the rest of my Christmas Light Show lights and stuff down, and I did! It took about 4 hours, but it was tee shirt weather and I was actually sweating. Sure was nice to do that in nice weather, compared to having frozen fingers and jacket on, and working in snow when I put them up. But once again, the Christmas storage shed is a mess as I just put things in there when I could during the winter, and always the bigger things seem to go in and then they are not in the right spot and so I run out of room quickly.

First, this morning, I took 15 grocery bags of recyclables to the transfer station. Found out now that we can mix glass, plastic and metal all together. We'll probably still separate them as that is how we have done and how we have our recyclable areas set up. I also had quite a few card board boxes, flattened out and brought there, too. Then I was going to clean the garage, just to find some bell wire to re wire the doorbell speaker for the main door. For some reason it quit working or I didn't label the wire correctly when I took them all off the Time Commander Plus when we had to send that in for repair. I found some, without having to clean, so that was nice. So now, the sound is louder, clearer and not far away from the door area as it was before. Can't wait until someone comes by at Halloween, when the sound is a wicked witch laugh and it will be out of "no where!"

Tomorrow I will finish taking the decorations and signs down from along our driveway, and I have one more lighted star to take down and will be all done except for some of the support stands and a few cement blocks to put away that held things in place.

I keep forgetting to write here. I have another week to think back on. I do know that I am enjoying my Droid Razr and have found some very useful and fun apps that I have been installing. Our house controls took a big leap forward tonight when I got the temperatures and most of the speakers in the house working, so we can hear when our house "talks" to us. For some reason the doorbell speaker at our main door isn't working and I don't know where or which wires are hooked to it, so I am going to try and run new wires. Should be fun, since I don't know how to get them there without them showing too much. I also need to put a new speaker and find a place to "hide" it.

I have been busy working on clocks. I went to Marquette and Negaunee on Thursday for clocks and some shopping. I also brought the pop cans to WalMart for money return. Friday night we went to Escanaba to see the Players de Noc Production of "Anything Goes." We left in the afternoon and did some shopping, ate at the Stone House, which is still quite expensive and the food wasn't that great. We had an actor friend, who was in the play, meet us after the play at Hudson's for some dessert.

Saturday we went up to Marquette for the Builder's Show, did some shopping and ate at Border Grill. Sunday we had church and then in the afternoon we had a meeting at a different church for preparation for Synod Assembly in May. My "little brother" came over after school and we worked on homework, did some fun things on the computer and he had supper here. Sally gave him a ride home on her way to Choral Society rehearsal.

Oh, I also went to the doctor's on Thursday. I have an itchy spot on my back that is spreading, but the odd part of it is that it hurts like a sore muscle does when it is over worked. They aren't really sure what it is, but when I sit at the computer it feels and gets worse. Must be how I am sitting, but I really don't know. The lotion I got for it and Benadryl help.