Not-Me Monday, Musical Edition

I was not in such a hurry to get to the Saturday night show that I unwittingly locked my keys, with the clicker on the ring, in the car.

I did not discover that I had done so until Ro came backstage to say 'hi' to old friends. We didn't both search my tote and purse several times, as if that would make the keys magically appear.

I didn't call my long-suffering spouse at home, make him search for the spare key and then come get me so I could do same. We did not conclude that the spare key was in Austin with Brother.

While I was waiting for him to pick me up in the cold, windy parking lot, I did not wave cheerfully and frantically at a perfect stranger in a van similar to his.

We did not return to the school, call roadside assistance, talk to some guy in India and then wait half an hour for the locksmith. I did not doze during the interim and he did not listen to Albert Campion on CD.

When the locksmith arrived and was jimmying open the door, the theater department head and the theater tech teacher did not drive up in her van on their way home, to investigate the shenanigans in the parking lot. This did not give them more evidence that though they love Mrs. B. and value her skills, she can occasionally be a big doofus.

When the keys were retrieved and the battery was tried, my spouse did not immediately detach the clicker and make me put it in my purse. I did not get a little lecture about keeping it there.

We have not been married so long that fortunately we both have about equal lists of Stupid Things that We Have Done That Highly Inconvenienced the Other Person.

Repairs
Remember when the enormous crack appeared in the guest room ceiling last August? First, we got the foundation fixed.
("Didn't we just do that?"
"Yes, when Ro was in the first grade."
"Oh".")

Then, we had a father-son team come in and replace most of the ceiling and texture it. Next, we finally removed the last backing of wallpaper border from the walls and Bob painted the room and the ceiling. Finally, we moved the furniture back in from the living room, which is when we discovered that the foundation repair had busted a pipe under the house and the seepage had reappeared along the front wall, soaking the new carpet and pad and peeling the veneer off the IKEA bookcases. But no books were damaged- whew!

So, we shoved the bookcases to the other side of the room, turned off all the water to the house and called the plumber, who couldn't really do anything in the black dark and agreed to come back in the morning. The leak was found and repaired and the plumbers recommended a water-damage crew to look at the carpet.

There's now a blower system under and over the carpet, making it undulate up and down and a de-humidifier whose hose runs into the washer drain. They have to operate non-stop for several days to insure that the carpet dries and doesn't mold. It's really kind of interesting. We sympathize with flood damage victims who have it about a million times worse. They check in on it everyday and the technician said that he was sure I could turn it off on Sunday evening for a couple of hours while we have a family dinner. Even needing expensive upkeep, it's still home.


Marge's friend Davy- the one who visited with her in AZ when Morgie was born- will be in town and wants to see where she grew up and meet more of the family. I'm making the most homely thing I can think of: beef-noodle casserole. With salad and broccoli, the family vegetable, and applesauce cake for dessert.

In addition to all the home repairs, I hauled the coffee table onto the back porch and re-finished the top. After twelve years of hard use, it was due. It needs a top coat of polyurethane, because the stain+poly finish product didn't quite get the job done, but it looks very nice. Close enough for government work, anyway. If I give it a quick coat tonight, and another in the morning, it should be dry by Sunday evening.

We have two super groups coming in todayto the Thanksgiving site- two batches of the Young Men's Service League and the women's sorority that was there last Saturday. I'm in charge the whole day, as poor Cathy picked up a box the wrong way and wrecked her back. I no longer pick up anything heavier than a box of 'Helpers'- I figure that's what the guys are for.
In addition to the ongoing packaging of plasticware, we have six big boxes of candy from somewhere- I heard a dentist, but that makes no sense- to bag up for Christmas. It's always good to have that to put in the boxes, even if it's a little Halloween-themed.


Busy week ahead: the theater director at the local high school called and asked me to be the seamstress for "Beauty and the Beast", this year's musical . Everything is rented, but there may be some alterations and they need someone on site to do any repairs during the performances. Actors are harder on costumes than you might imagine. Can't be there all the time- conflicts with Thanksgiving program, but we're working around that.

Back to Work, Everyone
Okay- that was dreadful. I hope everyone took a day to recover.
It's time to get back to work, because there's not a moment to spare.
My personal plan:

• Count my blessings and be grateful for them always
• Find a new political party/help start one
• Help Sissy and Jake with the kid's extracurricular education, focusing on real history, economics, civics and character development. There may be private school in the future.
• Counter every example of PC and faulty thinking I come across. Yes, even if you're talking to a friend in Starbucks. Politely, but firmly. (This will be hard, as we are the non-confron family, but it has to be done.) No more letting the Left own the narrative.
• Switch my charitable giving to outside the U.S. If people here want the state to take care of their every need, I can divert more funds to places that need them more. Okay, I'm still debating on this one- it might be a kneejerk petty reaction.
• Never use the term "________-American " again. You're an American, period. I am also now Teflon to the terms 'racist, sexist, homophobic, divisive, selfish and Islamophobic'.
• Campaign endlessly for election reform. No more ACORN. You register your own self. Voter registration ends a month before the election. You present a photo ID. You get a purple finger. Ballots are English only- if you're not literate in English, you don't vote. Every party gets a poll watcher. There will be no election night coverage: when all the votes are counted, the winner will be announced. It might be the next day. There is no early voting for national elections- make Election Day a holiday, if we need to.
• Help sink the MSM.
• Do it all without developing OBD, because that's counter-productive.

"In your day-to-day life, you must refrain from activities that advance the infrahuman tide of ugliness, barbarism and falsehood in our endarkened world."

-Robert Godwin