It's a Miracle

 January 22, 2021

I can hardly believe I am able to tell this tale.  Dad said, "It couldn't be."  Momma's mouth dropped open in awe.  Our mail lady walked right up to the front door and delivered a gray pouch.  Now let me remind you, the process only began on Thursday afternoon with an Internet search for the part...still no tracking info available to us. But there it was.  Could it really be?  Just two days later?  Well, you won't know for sure until you open it and take a peek.  

Yep, it's a miracle.  It's only been 48 hours.  And 5 minutes later the dishwasher part was installed and now I am truly disappointed.  I just KNEW they would get tired of washing dishes and ask me to lend a hand...well...a tongue.  I was all primed and ready to sample ...to let the tastes lay on my tongue.  Would they taste as good as they smell?  And now I'll never know.  

I'm Chloe

Who's Murphy?

 January 22, 2021

Okay, who's this guy Murphy that Momma is talking about....and his law?   I wonder if this Murphy likes to play ball....or maybe frisbee.  I'm ready!!  Is he here yet?

Momma looks a tad disappointed. Something about the upper sprayer on the dishwasher failing to stay in position and falling on the top rack

right when things are gearing up for overload with baking dishes.  The Charity Bake Sale is coming up the first weekend in February.  Momma said,  "It's Murphy's Law".   I told her not to worry.  I would gladly put my tongue into action and have all those dirty baking dishes cleaned out in no time.  But Dad.....our Mr. Fixit, Jack of All Trades, and Man of the Hour has a 3 step plan in place.  He said he has complete control over steps 1 and 3 of the plan but unfortunately, he has no control over step 2.  And that's scary seeing as the track record isn't positive lately.

Step 1:  order the replacement part.......Check...Done

Step 2:  receive the shipment of the replacement part....still no tracking number available

Step 3:  install replacement part

So it would seem that we should be due for a smooth delivery seeing as the last couple have been a nightmare. Dad had searched the Internet and low and behold, he found a part he was looking for.  It is for an old... almost ancient... push lawn mower that he hates to part with as it comes in handy every spring when he is able to mow with the bagger attached to cut back all the border grass and liriope without intensive labor.  He followed the tracking for a month and it still is stalled out in Illinois.  It's not like the seller can just grab another part off the shelf and ship it.  At this point the seller has given up and refunded Dad's payment.  Back to square one.

Atleast Dad received a box with the other lost shipment....an empty box....with fresh tape all over it and a damaged in shipment sticker...along with the fragile/liquid sticker attached by the sender.  The USPS carrier walked up to the front porch and flipped the empty box into the chair.  A dramatic delivery!!  

Unforturnately, we have many more shipment horror stories...too many if you ask me.  So, I guess you can understand why Dad is a tad nervous about receiving the needed replacement part in a timely fashion.  As he said, 'I have no control over step 2'.  He is trying to stay positive though.  If you calculate the percentage of completed vs incompleted deliveries, he is due for a smooth arrival...but it's all a gamble.  Kind of like winning the lottery.  The odds are with us on this one!!  Cross your fingers and I'll cross by paws!!

I'm Chloe

 January 21, 2021

From the home front

Momma was busy this morning in the kitchen.  No, not making the strawberry pie. That happened on Tuesday.

I'm sure she said it was Christmas Jam she was canning today, but this is nearly the end of January. 

Now why would she call it Christmas Jam?  And it has strawberries in it along with cranberries with some spices.  Unless you live in the south, you won't find fresh strawberries available to pick or purchase by the flat this month. 

So why call it Christmas Jam?  On top of that,  Christmas was a month ago.

It must be like the Christmas Catus that are looking so bright and flowerful on the patio right now

 NOW.....not last month when we celebrated Christmas. Of course the past two weeks have been so chilly that we haven't been having patio time.  Actually, the two legged don't seem to want to venture too far from the wood stove.  Dad makes the best, warmest fires!

Poor Dad has been having a rough time with his latest project.  He thought he would be able to get it done quickly before the cold snap set in but ...something about fish eyes.  Fish eyes????  There aren't even any fish in my pond.  OH,  the table top has taken on the appearance of fish eyes in the finish because of a reaction of some embedded chemical in the wood that sanding doesn't remove.  He may never refinish a table top again!! 

 He had to purchase a product to put in the finish to help with the fish eye issue. Of course it had to be ordered and shipped and now the weather hasn't been warm enough to spray the finish on the table top. In the meantime, his workbench is covered with a table top which limits the working space he has for other projects that don't require the warmer temps.  Did I mention he was a tad frustrated?

But he isn't the only one frustrated with the weather.  I know Momma was just stating the facts and didn't mean to hurt my feelings, but really Momma.  Did you have to announce that I am a dirty mess? I know you only like to bathe me in warm weather but if you would just add some soap to the pond, I could take a bubble bath and soak off all the crud.  You know I really don't mind taking a dip, even when the temperature has YOU wearing a jacket.  

I think I must have some Polar Bear blood in me. 

Well, if the weather man is on spot with his prediction, the temperature will be high enough by the end of the week to not only get the final coat on the table top, but to get my coat shiny clean once again after a good scrubbing tubby.

Come on warmer days......

I'm Chloe