Mount Brushmore

I slept pretty well.  I heard someone playing music, but it was down pretty low and I slept so I don't mind. 

I waited until an appropriate moment and talked to Ron about the mountain of tree trimmings in front of our house.  We have a pile, about 4 feet high, 3 feet deep, and 20 feet long. 

Ron decided to call the landlady.  "Oh, I told him to trim the tree" she replied blithely "Heavy trash will take them tomorrow."  Ron suggested she come by and look, because this is even worse than last month's pile, which we were quoted $50 on removal. 

"I'm not paying" Ron told her grimly "For this one."

She mentioned, again (said this last year too) they are trying to "get rid of" the tenants.  They came in fall, 2010.  She's had them for 4 years.  She must not hate them that much. 

We emphasized, overall, he's not a bad guy.  This is our only complaint.  Had I been on the phone I would have played up the "wheelchair user needs to get on the van" angle, but Ron chose not to do that. 

Ron had mentioned someone had pressure-washed the house, which is 20 years old this year.  "Oh, we did that - hired someone, because we're about to paint."  The house is in clear need of a paint job. 

Ron was worried they are getting ready to rent it, or sell it.  I don't think so.  She told me once the house was their fallback plan if "things got really bad, financially". 

I know the black middle class has suffered horribly the last several years.  If anything they would be coming back. 

The house is bad-enough looking they probably got fix-it letters from the homeowner's association.  We got one because they didn't like our trim, several years ago.  We had to hire someone to paint. 

Anyway, lots of drama too early in the morning. 

I was proud of myself for waiting to talk to Ron about the problem.  One of my favorite secular self-help books: "Contact, the First 4 Minutes".  It basically stated the first 4 minutes set the tone for the whole encounter. 

If I go straight into complaints the minute Ron wakes up, he's going to wish he hadn't.  If I make loving chatter for 5-10 minutes, first, he won't feel "dumped on". 

It seems to work very well. 

I checked the mail.  I got a very nice letter I won't share.  Suffice to say it was fan mail.  I don't need to inflate my ego, so I won't.  I'm glad I make people feel better (hopefully you, too!). 

I also got a package from an internet friend, about 200 tracts.  Yay!  Tracts!  They are very nice full color tracts, which I'll definitely use packing my Bibles.  I can also give some to Ron if he wants, but he's pretty loyal to "Where will you Spend Eternity" Link

We went to Walmart.  Ron was upset his sure-thing "one hour at Walmart" had been hacked to half an hour, but our pickup was late so I got my hour anyway. 

I made a deposit, I need to buy some things online: vending machine labels, if I don't make my own; and maybe another deodorant crystal stone. 

I hunted up Spanish Bibles.  I am a stalker.  I found 5 and put them all in my cart.  If I buy a whole Spanish Bible online, it costs me $3-4 plus shipping.  If I get it at Walmart it's $1.88 and I don't even pay sales tax. 

I got some more yogurt, etc.  Cat treats.  Spent some time among the air fresheners.  I think my house has a wierd smell.  I ended up getting a Febreeze "Fall Favorite" even though it's July.  It's a Sandalwood/Chai, shouldn't affect Ron, and makes the house smell OK. 

I bought some cheese dogs and whole grain buns, a little ice cream for me, some for the drivers, and checked out.  I was pretty hungry so I bought a breakfast sandwich. 

Ron wanted a hash brown so I got one. 

We had a good ride home but the drivers are having some difficulty navigating Mount Brushmore in front of our house.  Ugh. 

So, I need to do my God Time (woke up with a pretty nasty headache and didn't feel up to it either this morning or just now), eat my rice pudding, take my meds. 

I'm not sure if our truck day is on for tomorrow.  I heard Ron talking to the man and it sounded like a cancellation.  I have yet to find my back brace, which has me a little uncomfortable. 

However, I've done lots of heavy lifting for years without a problem.