Saturday, March 28, 2009

When it rains, it pours...

I mean this both literally and metaphorically. The weather today sucks! The temps have dropped continuously throughout the day, it has rained steadily most of the day, and in fact has poured heavily at times. We have had lightening and thunder so loud that the walls and windows have shaken with the repercussions of it! As the evening wears on the rain is supposed to turn to snow, with snow a given after midnight. There is a prediction that St. Louis will see anywhere from 3-8" of snow, and we are up for ???? (I have heard anything from a dusting to 6 inches). It won't last long. The weather pundits say that the temps will be back in the 60's on Monday and everything will melt. It's just getting through the next 36-48 hours.

We are also having vehicle issues and have laid down the law that neither the van nor the crx are leaving the property until repaired. It took borrowing tools from the auto repair shop we use to get the lug nuts loosened enough to remove the flat tire, and once the spare was on, we discovered the front passenger tire was starting to split. Not safe to drive on, especially in this weather! The auto repair shop is getting 4 tires for us to replace the ones on it, and should have them in Monday. I have to work from 10 - 2 on Sunday so I am glad that Eric will be home from work and sleeping so I can take the Pilot back and forth. Unfortunately that means no church though. I had asked to work afternoons on Saturdays and Sundays, but I will take what I am given for the moment, just to have some hours. I also work 10 - 2 on Tuesday and 8:30 - 12:30 on Wednesday. We will need to juggle some things to figure out how we are going to get Brianne back and forth to work for 6 am at least on Monday when Eric doesn't generally get home from work until 7 a.m., provided she is even on the schedule. In calling in sick last week with her UTI she got taken off the schedule for the remainder of the week! I am not sure I understand that, but that's what they did.

I was a bit discouraged to find out how much it is going to cost to put in the paverstone patio in the front of the house (which will probably be double that when we get to the back yard...). I hadn't taken into account the cost of some of the prep materials we will need, and when I got prices on all of it, it basically doubled my estimate and added on a bit. We don't want to cut corners as we want it to look nice, and to last, but wow. I didn't realize we would need to lay down as deep a base as we will (they say 4-6 inches of crushed stone, topped by an inch of sand, then lay the pavers). When Jim and I did it back in Minneapolis, we just cleared the area, spread a sand base, and laid down the stone. It has held up for the better part of 15-20 years without issue, although some of the stones are now starting to crumble a bit due to weather and aging, but still. We aren't giving up on doing it, but it will probably be a bit longer before we can start than I had hoped it would be. On the plus side, he really liked the same paver I did, and we also agreed on a layout that would flatter it. We also got a magazine (free) put out by the paver manufactorer that had worksheets for how much of each needs to be bought (paverstones, sand, crushed rock), and clear instructions as to how to DIY. I would say we could do it in a long weekend once we are prepared. We just need to be prepared to do it!

It's really quiet around here today. Rei is at a friend's from the bowling alley til tomorrow afternoon, Brianne went out with friends last night and isn't sure when she'll be home (no vehicle available to go pick her up); Cliff has gone to work, Patrick is getting ready to go to a birthday party, and Aurora is cuddled in her quilt reading a book. Gonna be just her and I home tonight when all is said and done as Cliff works til close I believe, Patrick will be home around 11:30, and who know's what Brie's plans are. It's a good day for coccooning in! I may play some Everquest tonight, or I may just watch tv and stitch. Not sure which sounds the most appealing right now. Unfortunately I had NOT slept well last night, was up early this morning, and laid down and napped with Eric for a couple of hours this afternoon when he got home from school. (I hadn't planned necessarily to sleep, but I guess I needed it). He is now off to work, and NOT looking forward to patrolling in the rain, sleet, and snow tonight. Yuck!

I wanted to say a quick thanks to my friend Erika. She arranged for Tony and Andrea to have a nice night away at the casino in Prior Lake, and even upgraded the room to their best suite in the hotel! The room they stayed in is housing Jay Leno tonight! They had a fantastic time and it was so nice for them to have a night away from being parents and enjoying each other. It made me happy to know they had fun.

I am torn at the moment between making a margarita or making a big cup of herb tea, and just cuddling in myself for the remainder of this dreary day! Maybe I will start with tea, then have a cocktail later on (lol). It's just that kind of night!

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