April 5, 2007
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A Surprise for us
We were expecting company (the Beast’s brother and his wife) but not until sometime late on Tuesday from what we had been told. Imagine my surprise when the brother calls Tuesday morning around 9am to tell me they are about 5 miles away!!!
I gave him instructions on how to get to the house from the main drag through town and told him I wouldn’t tell the Beast they were here already but yelled at him for leaving on Monday and driving all night. I thought the beast would wet his drawers when the brother showed up. It was a real picture to see his face.
One thing I will say about the brother as a guest….he’s a butcher by trade and always comes bearing gifts of meat. This time he brought a nice ham, a leg of lamb, an incredible beef roast, a boneless pork roast and a corned beef brisket.
The next couple days were a bit on the hectic side with them wanting to see the area and having their four-month-old German Shepherd puppy with them. I had forgotten about her coming with them. They *inherited* her after hearing that she might have to be put down as a six week old puppy because a rotten little kid stomped on her and caused some incredible internal damage, including a kidney and damaged womb. Betty is too tender hearted for words but the vet has done a good job and so has Betty in the care of Heidi. For all that Heidi has been through, she’s very much a normal puppy, complete with playfulness and love of water. We had a real thunder and lightning storm here on Tuesday night and she discovered each and every puddle in the neighborhood. I was just glad it was warm enough to use the hose on her and let her stay on the deck to dry out afterwards.
Today we woke up around 5:30 am to 33 degree weather. It was *bracing* to say the least. And, today, the three of them (I get to stay here because I am still recovering from my back injury and can’t ride in the Beast’s truck) left for the final trip to the Florida house. I will finally get all the rest of my furniture, dishes and other stuff here. I am trying to get what is already here organized while they are gone to make it easier to unpack the rest of the things they will bring. Jim and Betty are going to rent a trailer one-way to Chicago to take back the leather living room set we have because it is too big and bulky for this house. It’s a nice set, very comfortable and *overstuffed* so you kind of sink into it but…huge for a house that’s half the size of the one it’s in right now. Jim and Betty have a nice size family room it will go perfectly in.
The Beast came down with a cold on Wednesday morning and was just miserable. I babied him a bit, gave him either tea or hot chocolate, depending on his mood but he’s determined to get this trip over and done. I packed up his bag, gave him a bag of nibbling goodies for the drive and made sure he ate before he left. By 8 am, they were on the road. I talked to my sister online for a bit, went and sat in a nice hot bath because my back was killing me and then went back to bed for a couple hours….*grin*. It was wonderful!!!
It’s nice out right now…probably got up into the 60′s somewhere but it will be even colder tonight. I will probably sleep on the couch, watch tv and just *chill* so-to-speak. I won’t have much of a chance once they get back so I will baby myself and my back until then. I expect them back on Sunday evening at the earliest. They plan on driving down to our old house in one day (today) but will stop for the night on the way back. The Beast will be dragging a trailer loaded to the top and so will Jim and that will make the trip much longer because they won’t be able to speed. Heck, due to the construction that has been going on for YEARS in Georgia, they won’t even be able to drive the normal 70 mph most highways have posted. Been there…drove that.
One last bit of news. The monday after we got here, I called about getting a landline phone put in for us. Our local provider is MCI and, let me tell you, they are NOT a part of THIS century. First they tell me it can take up to two weeks to get one turned on for me. Okay…I can almost understand that. This IS a new development and a new house. However, they say here’a s #, call us after 10 days if you haven’t heard from us to check on when you will get service. So…I do that. What do I hear on the recording they all seem to have…..? Now it is saying it can take up to 60 DAYS to get new service!
BUT….then the operator tells me that I should be receiving a letter asking for a $76. deposit and it will take about two weeks after the deposit is received. Now I am having a fit! I ask to talk to a supervisor. After discussing the fact that I had MCI service in Florida and was told there that there would be NO PROBLEM in getting MCI service HERE, I was finally told (after they supposedly checked it out) that the deposit requirement was waived. However, we were talking about another two weeks before we would have service. I was floored.
I told the operator that we would have to have a technician scheduled to come to the house because the phone lines outside were not attached to anything…they were just hanging there. No junction block..nothing. Oh, no problem. After the service was *turned on* (what the hell do they mean by that if the wires aren’t going anywhere?????), a technician would be dispatched. Is this for real????
This morning, after the Beast had already left, I received a call from MCI to tell me that I would have my service on Tuesday of next week. I just thanked the gal and hung up. I don’t really know what the heck they mean by that and won’t until Tuesday actually comes I guess. I’ll let you know.
BTW….the letter I was supposed to be receiving about the deposit requirement??? It STILL hasn’t shown up and it was supposed to already be *in transit* when I spoke with them on Tuesday. HA HA HA
Have a great day.
