Plunging into the Hodgepodge

Last week I took a break FROM the Hodgepodge because of  having too much to do. 

This week I'm taking a break FOR the Hodgepodge because of  all I've already done 

The smell of bleach is turning my hair blonde. Why?

A brief recap because I need to unload somewhere. Lucky you.

 (This is my third attempt at being brief.)

Yesterday:   After getting tires put on by Shop X last Weds, an alignment by Shop Y on Friday, and  the vehicle to the Hyundai dealer (Shop Z) for recall repairs on Monday, I ended up with scary wheels, a loaner vehicle , and a lying customer service rep at Shop Z.  She told me the right ball joint was BROKEN. I called Shop Y back (the one we've used and trusted for 10 years. He said if it was broken you wouldn't be able to drive it.

So I confronted the rep on for the truth and she said, "Well, it wasn't broken-broken. It was really worn. Maybe I should have chosen a different word."  

I refused service there (after saying that I would only do business where I felt the truth was being told. Drove it carefully and fearfully back to Shop Y for the emergency appointment. Had to leave vehicle overnight. while parts came in.

 My 7th grade son desperately  needed a  haircut--'desperately'  being MY word because of School Picture Day  (happening today). He hates to have his hair cut. Loves the sloppy look. I made an appointment, but without a car I needed my dad to come for the 6:15 appointment.  Remember hubby is in meetings till 8:30 pm. 

I get a text at   5:15 from the hairdresser at 5;15 that her mom's feeding tube came loose and was bleeding. She, of course, had to cancel. I felt so bad for her, but certainly didn't want hubby to come home at 9 to a boy needing a haircut.

But ...wait....there's MORE!! The toilets got clogged around 7pm . I texted hubby when the problem was just a drip from the foyer ceiling.  Hey, a bored guy in a meeting needs a shot of adrenaline, right? 

He came home to a MAJOR catastrophe of the plumbing type, He tried to plunge it out. He raced to Home Depot but their rental dept closes at 9:30. This was 9;50. The manager hands him some Drano bottles for free and says good luck. 

He thoroughly washes his hands and then cuts the boy's hair!! Oh, my goodness. What a guy. What a hero! 

Son is barking, whining, snarling saying this is the worst thing in the world, why can't he have hair down to his eyes and sideburns that touch his collar? You'd think he was getting a Bill Gates haircut from the look on his face. 

Oh, well, this is what you get when your mom tells you TWO WEEKS ago you need a haircut and you badger her with "it's fine. It can wait."

Hubby  goes to bed at midnight  with Youtube showing a toilet-unclog how-to videos. Then "Eureka! I can go in through the SINK!"  He got up and plunged, twisted, and snaked 3 bathrooms--flushing, cheering, upstairs, downstairs,  flushing again. Woohoo!   Problem solved.  It's 1 a.m.  I tell him he is the best in the world. He rolls his eyes. Seriously, businessman, crap conqueror, and hairdresser in the same day?  I give him hugs, kisses, and a much-deserved backrub.
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and now...


The Lord's mercies are new every morning!

Today I've cleaned three bathrooms from "bow to stern"  or is it stern to bow?   The windows are open to air out the smell of bleach but I do have a raging headache. So...on with the trivia to balance all this mess out! 

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Joyce, our faithful hostess who churns out these questions week after week, has birds on her mind this week. Not calling her a bird brain. That would be me.

1. My hubs spent last weekend pheasant hunting. Are there hunters in your family? If so, what do they hunt? Which of the following have you tasted-pheasant, rabbit, venison, duck, goose? Which of those would you most like to taste, or be most willing to taste?

Hunter? Only my brother-in-law (who is married to my vegetarian sister). He is recovering from a fall from a tree while hunting 3 weeks ago. The second surgery was last Monday--8.5 hours long! And not totally successful. Anyway, I've tasted rabbit and venison. Most willing to try goose. But not eager.

Vegetarians keep calm and Hodgepodge on.

2. What high spot have you visited that gave you a wonderful 'bird's eye view' of something below?

Some ridge overlooking a color-turning forest a couple weeks ago. My head hurts too much to remember exactly where.

3.  Do you have any birds in your home? These could be either real live pets or decorative, as in bird prints, knickknacks, fabric or pottery.

I love birds, as long as they're outside. I'm really scared of indoor birds.  You wouldn't know it to see my Facebook profile picture, though. I was at the vet's office with my friend Barb while in KS. They have  a very social  parrot who just climbed off the counter and onto my shoulder. I faked a smile for a picture but all the while was thinking, "Get this dumb bird off of me!" 

I decorate with bird prints on pillows and pictures and have a quilt in mind with a bird motif.  One time I had a bird clock in the half bath that made a different bird call or song every hour on the hour.  Barb came to visit me 
and had to pee right at 7 a.m.  That happens to be the mourning dove which says a long, slow, sad, "hoo....hoo". She sat down right as the clock "struck" 7. "Hoo...Hoo..." she heard as her butt hit the toilet seat. Scared the #$%@ out of her, she said!

   
4. Tell about a time you 'killed two birds with one stone'?

I've used a lot of this waiting-for-vehicle time to pray for various people who are really suffering.  Especially my little neighbor girls whose two little Chihuahuas were killed by one pit bull two weekends ago.

5. Your favorite song with a bird in it's title?

His Eye is on the Sparrow.  My grandmother sang it while seated next to me on the piano bench. Her singing was FAR better than my playing, but what a precious memory.   That song is  the inspiration for my sewing room decor.

6. What most recently gave you goose bumps?

Hearing my friend Bonnie tell about how she was visited by an angel named Gabriel.  I told the story in a recent HP. My head hurts too much to link it. Sorry. 

7. Halloween is this Friday...any plans? Did you trick or treat as a child? Carve pumpkins? Share your most memorable costume.

(excuse me while I take Bayer migraine pill before answering this... Wow, a short night's sleep and a dose of bleach is KILLING MY HEAD!)

I'm gonna skip Halloween this year. Too much death in my real life lately  I hate how it's glorified.  Did you see the "sexy Ebola nurse costume" on FB? Seriously? What is sexy about ebola? 

 My son wants to go trick or treating but I think he's too old. I told him I'd buy lots of  candy.   I went trick or treating a few times as a kid. Favorite costume was Marilyn Monroe. I wore L'Eggs eggs in my mom's bra, a big blonde wig, red lipstick. I was only in third grade--and the pastor's daughter. But oh well. I went bobbing for apples in that costume and one of my "eggs" fell into the water. I henceforth think of it as "BOOBING for apples."

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

I lost another friend to cancer this week. Geoff was just a little older than my husband. A faithful Sunday school teacher for my older kids. A wonderful, generous man with a perpetual smile.