Insomnia

I guess it's not classic insomnia. I did get some sleep, just less than usual. My brain seemed to kick into high gear around 4ish this morning and just wouldn't shut up. So I decided to try something different today. I got up.

The dog isn't completely sure what's going on, but she's decided to join me wherever I happen to land. At the moment she's on the couch dealing with an itch she didn't have a few moments ago. There's some critter outside making a kind of whirring shound, sounding almost like some fairly rapid snorer enjoying a good night's sleep, with an occasional pause just to make things interesting. The only other noises, besides the thoughts rumbling around in my head, are my fingers tapping on the keyboard, the intermittent car sounds, and the idling of a train about a mile or so away.

I'm really not a morning person; although, I do occasionally enjoy watching a sunrise, especially if I'm away from home. That's not the case this morning.

There's a really cool word that I first read in one of my favorite science fiction books that describes the light at this time of day: crepuscular. It actually describes that kinda gray sorta light which happens at dawn and dusk, where things are just becoming visible out of the darkness or are just fading into the night. The author used it in conjunction with filming an historical vampire movie at that time of day just before the sun rose while things are eerily foggy and mysterious.

Crepuscular. Good word for this morning, especially since I'm sitting here feeling a bit gloomy and hoping that the predicted rain decides not to transpire. I really need the wood around my new sliding glass door to dry out so I can paint it. I've been trying to paint it ever since a week ago Monday, but the days I've been in town have also been rain days. *sigh* I'm not painting wet wood! But it's just so frustrating, and a bit depressing, that I've not been able to get that done.

I think I'm going to just sit and listen to the critters a bit longer. There's a bird who's decided to add a chirp to the morning's chorus, and a mourning dove or two who've joined the melody. Maybe the dog snoring on the floor might entice my eyelids back to sleep. I've an hour or two before I have to be anywhere or do anything. *yawn* G'night.

The Winner and Champeen ...

They certainly don't make them like they used to.

Today the plumber came to the house to move the drain from its current location to the place it needs to be for the marble installation to proceed. To pull this feat off, it was necessary to cut through the old pipe and install a new section of pipe from the drain's new location to the old underground drainage system. Easy, you'd think, right?

Not if the original pipe is cast iron!

It ultimately took two strong men and four diamond saw blades to successfully cut through the pipe to remove the section!

Winner and Champeen? The men, but only by referee's decision. *chuckle*

It's good to know the underpinnings of the house are sturdily built. A major blessing when things are working right, bit of a curse if there's a problem.

Next up - concrete in the shower! I suspect this bout will be just a bit easier.

Probably Christmas?

Please forgive me if the blog becomes a reconstruction rant for the next few weeks. Getting back into my house truly isn't the only thing on my mind, but it's certainly at the top of the list at the moment. And an especially frustrating item on the list at that.

When last we met, I was looking at about a two week delay to get someone to repair the rotted wood in my now dismantled shower. Thanks to my blessed handyman church member that problem has been rectified. He did an awesome job in fixing up the nasty looking studs and that shower ain't a-gonna be moving anywhere any time in the near or distant future! I couldn't have asked for a better resolution to that difficulty.

But then .....

The plumber's jackhammer guy came to the house and pounded the crap out of the concrete in the shower. After much chipping away, it was discovered that there's something weird about the way the original builder installed the shower foundation. The jackhammer guy consulted one of the owners. The owner stood there and scratched his head while trying to figure out how the heck to do the necessary plumbing so the marble can be installed. Totally perplexed, he left, still scratching his head. The jackhammer guy packed up his gear and headed off for the day.

Fortunately, the plumber did come up with a possible solution. Which meant the jackhammer guy had to come back the next day and pound some more crap out of the concrete. I may now have a permanent headache. *chuckle* Today, the plumber's supposed to come back to the house to do the plumbing work and then re-concrete the shower floor. He's not called yet, so I don't know when he's coming.

Ok - that was the good stuff. At least there will be some progress soon on the shower.

Then today started. I get a call about 7:30am telling me there'd been a cancellation on the schedule and the door installer would be able to come and install my doors today! Woohoo! Get the doors in and the shower fixed and the carpet/vinyl could go in only slightly off-schedule. Right? (wait for it)


WRONG!!

Turns out the guy who measured the doors and did the estimate on the installation mismeasured the front door. Two weeks to get the door reordered and back in. Then the installation has to be rescheduled. *sigh* Perhaps I'll be able to live in my house by Christmas.

The sliding glass door was installed, though. So that was a positive. But the weirdnesses associated with this house never seem to end. When the installer began the replacement, he discovered that the brick threshhold was an add-on which ended up serving the purpose of providing a most excellent source of unwanted moisture to the wooden portion of the threshhold, thus nicely rotting out the door's support. He chipped and levered the bricks out of their track, and now I have a 6-8" by 6-foot by 4-5" trough to be filled with concrete to level things up with the patio.

Maybe if the plumbing concrete guy comes by while the weather's still good, he might be willing to add my interesting trough to the indoor task. *pleads pitifully*

I am beginning to wonder why delays of 2-3 weeks keep popping into the picture. So, I'm going to get a window company that's been advertising in the paper to give me an estimate on replacing the rest of my windows. If it's not an unreasonable price and the timing of installation is right, I may go ahead and do that before getting the carpet and vinyl installed. Maybe in the interest of energy efficiency, and eliminating as many weirdnesses as possible while the house is still a torn-up mess, I ought to go ahead and finish things off. If it's not going to delay things by more than they are already delayed, then ... well, it's something to think about (and quickly!)

Here's hoping to something earlier than Christmas!

I Oughta Know Better By Now

You'd think I'd learn. I do it to myself every time. At least I'm consistent.

Here I was getting all excited about work being scheduled for Her Horribleness repairs. This week, the cultured marble people were to tear out the yucky tile. They did. One task down. Then today the plumber was supposed to come over and replace the shower pan and redo the plumbing fixtures in the shower and in my bathtub. He did. However, he wasn't able to finish everything.

For one thing, apparently the drain has to be moved and, of course, it's set in concrete. Literally! That means a jackhammer person has to come by and smash out the old stuff. Since we didn't know about that until today, there wasn't anyone with a jackhammer available today to come and do the work. *sigh* Perhaps tomorrow.

Unfortunately, there's another problem that's even worse. When the marble people did their thing, they discovered that the wood framing in the shower was seriously rotted. ACK! Now I have to replace the wood before the plumber and the marble people can finish their jobs. This additional task is going to take a contractor. Guess who doesn't have a contractor readily available. ... You've got it!

So I tapped my congregational handyperson, and his contacts say "about two weeks" before someone's available. Two Weeks!! ARGH!! And that's just before the shower stuff can be completed.

Then I have to get the linoleum and carpet put in. I'd had it scheduled for next week. Now it's been postponed.

Here I was hoping that the flooring could be installed next week, the touchup painting and trim/baseboards/etc. finished Memorial Day weekend, and light fixtures, curtains, ceiling fan, and the like put back together and cleaned up shortly thereafter, with a move-back-in date by no later than my birthday in June. *double sigh*

Now it's maybe by July 4th? Labor Day? Thanksgiving? Christmas? OK - I'll do my best to not get totally pessimistic. *whine* I just want to sleep in my own bed. */whine*

Pomp ... and Circumstance

It's 100% official! The boy ..... oops! Ahem! The Man has attained his initial goal - a college diploma. This past Saturday he put on cap, gown, and tassel; waited in line and through the formalities; handed the card with his name on it to the Dean, and walked across the stage to shake the college president's hand and get the empty diploma cover signifying completion of his degree requirements (the actual diploma had arrived in January); then returned to his seat for the completion of the graduation rite. Pictures were taken (although not of his 'non-traditional' footwear) and we were through. I'm so proud of him!

Graduation had its quirks. Since the school only does one graduation ceremony each year, there were many people and not enough seats. People came early and saved not just a few seats, but rows for those who weren't there yet (and, for the most part, didn't arrive until just as the graduation began). Then as soon as their graduate made it across the stage, they rose 'en masse' and left! I probably wouldn't have been quite so upset by this, except that they did it when my son was getting ready to cross the stage and I now have a picture of heads and backs instead of my son. I'm hoping the school photographer's picture comes out ok.

I guess it's traditional for the commencement address to consist of every graduation cliche in the book. It did. It's also traditional for names to be mangled. They were, just not the students' names, and there were some doozies. *chuckle* In the grand scheme of things, I'm glad my son was scheduled for the morning graduation instead of the afternoon one. Standing room only doesn't begin to describe the afternoon crowd.

We followed up the ceremony with the family's traditional meal of the graduate's choice, then he left to spend some time with friends and to get some much needed sleep (if possible). And now he's headed off to California to start work on Wednesday. Good job, my son! I'm sure you'll end up accomplishing whatever you put your heart to. Godspeed, my son!

Ay Yi Yi Yi

*sung* I miss San Ju-an!

The return home (for at least a few days) was accomplished yesterday, and I'm already wishing I were back. Friendly people. Beautiful surroundings. Gasoline for about $2.25/gallon (once converted from metric). I was even beginning to remember a bit more Spanish, though I was nowhere close to keeping up with conversations, much less thinking in it.

There's a brightness to the area which doesn't exist here. Okay, since Her Horribleness blew through, there are one or two houses around here that have, shall we say?, unique paint colors on them, but the vast majority of us have wandered back into the realm of "studied bland". While I refused to return to the same neutral beige, I couldn't quite bring myself to go over the edge into something truly different like aqua or lavender or brilliant yellow. Wouldn't have been able to get away with that in San Juan! Lime green! Hot pink! Blazing orange! Purple! (hmmmm.... couldn't have used that as a color suggestion during the kitchen remodeling at church if I'd lived in San Juan.) The brighter, the better. Of course, there were places painted white and grayed with age, but the area as a whole was vibrant with color!

Here's a pic of the Presbyterian Church located near the Governor's Mansion:

There's also a 'weight' and historicity to the place that can be overwhelming at times. Around the edges of the city are huge, thick fortifications and you can almost feel the years, centuries, they've been standing there "holding the fort" and keeping the city secure. I love the story of the women who kept the town from being attacked by pirates because they walked along the upper streets carrying torches and praying all night. The pirates were convinced there were so many men that they'd never be able to win and sailed away! Brave, gutsy people!

El Morro

Their folkloric dance is bright and creative, as you might guess. On Thursday, a group of us went to watch a free performance of their more contemporary dance history, which included salsa and the mamba. On Saturday, we went back for a taste of their older dances, which are blended with the Spanish influence and that of Africa. Wonderful! And the music and musicians were a delight!

Do you like plantains? It's a central part of the diet and is available in some form at almost every meal. While mofongo is pretty bland (to my taste), I really liked the sweet plantains a lot! I often get accused of not being particularly adventurous in my eating, and it's sorta true. So I wandered onto the wild side, for me, and tried something different at each meal. I will have to admit, though, that I couldn't bring myself to eat cabrito.

And, while I'm not particularly into alcoholic beverages, it was impossible to not visit the Bacardi Rum facility. An interesting experience. Next time you're in San Juan, take the tour. It's free, and you get two tickets to taste some of the various rum drinks. I tried the mojito ... not my cup of rum. And sipped a bit of peach rum. Better, but I have a feeling it's an acquired taste. *shiver* And, of course, you must see the drunken palm tree! (Well, not really, but I thought it was appropriate. *chuckle*)

Casa Bacardi

One visit we made was to a local worship service at the church our committee member attends. It was in Spanish, but we had an interpreter. I didn't quite get all of it, but managed to understand bits of it, even in Spanish. The pastor invited one of my compatriots to give a welcome on behalf of the committee and then asked me (!!!!!) to give the benediction. I very wisely did not attempt anything in Spanish, even though they had a benediction printed in their bulletin. One of the fascinating things to me was the building: the doors had no glass in them! Summer, winter, spring, fall - it's open to the elements. The eaves are apparently wide enough to keep those nasty horizontal rains from getting in, but still ...

All in all, in spite of having to take a break for our meeting, it was a very good trip. I can't wait to go back! And next time, I'll be sure to make plans for seeing the Camuy Caverns, the Arecibo Observatory, the Rain Forest, .... maybe next time, I'll plan to stay a bit longer. Adios!

Dateline: San Juan

After hectically wrapping up a myriad of details, and a short nasty bout with the 24-hour virus that's been running around, I made it out of town and took the "scenic route" to the hotel where I stayed last night so I could get up before God to get to Intercontinental Airport. After a miserable night because someone nearby left their poor pooch to bark his/her head off all night, I made it to the airport without getting lost. Quite a feat for the directionally challenged! While I ordinarily hate Intercontinental, this morning's excursion managed to go without a hitch. Shoot! Even my connecting flight was nearby and on time!

The flight into San Juan was beautiful! I wish I'd remembered I had my camera in my purse. The view from the air was awesome! Green lush hills (mountains? It's hard to tell from that high up.). The water varying shades of blue. Incredible white beaches. I think I'm in love!

So what did I do first? Ate lunch, then crashed! About the time I got to the hotel, it began raining ... and rained ... and rained. Not a problem! Flying normally wipes me out, and it's worse when I don't sleep well the night before. A nice long nap did the trick, and I believe I'm ready for some sightseeing tomorrow. There are several places I'd like to go, but am not sure where I'll head first. I love caves and there are apparently some wonderful ones a day-trip's ride away, but don't know whether I'll be able to pull that one off. Maybe Sunday.

I'll have to admit it's an interesting experience being someplace where Spanish is the primary language. I know a little bit from all those years of Spanish in intermediate and high school and college. The problem is that each year we started at the beginning, so I know the alphabet real well. *chuckle* Helps immensely! Clicked onto Blogger and what did I find? It automatically translated the whole thing into Spanish. ACK! Panic! .... Saw a link on the front page that said "en ingles" and remembered that much Spanish and clicked ... Found another link, in English, about translating into various languages. WHEW! Glad I didn't have to manage in Spanish for this. Wouldn't have made it past the first sentence!

Can't wait to see what tomorrow has in store!