That seems to have been the theme of my life this past week: some things fell into my lap by coincidence (although when that happens while working on a writing project, I often think it's almost supernatural) and bad things as well.
First the good luck: The house where I grew up is still a renter house in a block of row houses. I bike past it almost every day, and already had a picture of the outside for my memoir, but now it's empty. At first the door was locked, but then painters started working inside -- and the other afternoon as I biked by there, I saw the door was ajar. I checked, and the door was unlocked. The reason I didn't ask to go inside, while painters were there, is that I wasn't sure what kind of emotional reaction I would have -- had never been back inside that place since I was eighteen, and moved mother and the girls out; I wanted to be alone when I saw it. Anyway, I hurried home, got my camera and drove my car back to the house. I must have taken 30 or more pictures of the inside of the vacant house! Talk about haunted, I had vivid flashbacks of so, so many horrors lived in that house! But I kept an objectivity as a photographer, and got pictures of everything...especially certain views that captured volatile, violent episodes in our lives.
The one of the backdoor, curtain pulled aside, is especially evocative: One time daddy left on a trip (he was a truckdriver) and then near dusk, he suddenly appeared at that backdoor. His eyes were wild, glazed (probably on benny pills/liquor) and called me, in a whisper, to come to him. He said he was going to kill us all, and showed me a gun. That'd he sneaked back to check up on mother (he was always convinced she was cheating on him, paranoid no doubt)...and thus began one of the scariest nights of my life. Suffice to say, it took considerable persuasion to convince him NOT to kill us, and instead take us to my paternal grandparents' house.
Anyhow, I can use these photos (in sepia) with my memoir -- which I'm still submitting. Have had a few nibbles about publication, and the pix will greatly help.
The bad luck: Looks like my washer is toast. I happened to check on it the other day since it sounded odd -- and found a small pool on the utility floor! Spent hours soaking, mopping up the mess. I think the lint filter (which was full of lint) may have caused this problem, and it did pump the remainder of the water out after I cleaned that. I just haven't been willing to test it yet, since I don't feel like mopping up water again. This set was here when I bought the house, and both are high quality but old. If the washer is history, I'll buy a new set at Lowe's, have them delivered and installed. I asked at Lowe's today, and they will take away the old set.
Mother is not doing well -- and my sister and bro-in-law with whom she lives, apparently have reached the limit of their coping ability. They are trying to get mother back into the nursing home, but finding there's as much red tape this time as the first time. Had they left her there then, mother would have been settled in and have had better 24/7 care. Home health is NOT a substitute for institutional care, not at all. I would say, "I told you so," cause I did -- told all of them, wrote it here in this blog. Hey, though, live and learn, huh?
I mowed my backyard the other morning, and had no problems. Still one of the dirtest jobs on earth though! Ugh. I do love the electric weedeater though. I wrote to the company that makes electric rechargable battery push mowers, Neuton, and suggested they come out with a small electric riding mower with rechargable batteries. They respsonded, and thanked me for my input; said it helped them decide what products to offer in the future. I predict whoever comes out with such a riding mower will make a quick fortune!
I've also been trying to decide on an estate lawyer to draw up my Will, and act as Executor of my estate. I don't want my sisters/nephews to have to deal with the hassle of all that when I die -- even if not soon. I want to get it all worked out in legal terms, cut-and-dried, so that I won't have to worry what will happen when I'm gone. DH had several lawyer-friends, one of whom lives across the street from my other house, and who did DH's Will. I'll try him first; he's only in his 30s, so chances are he'll outlive ME. Important, you know. It's taken me this long after DH's death to figure out what I want done with everything I own, but let's just say: "There's gonna be some happy animal critters when I shuffle off this mortal coil."
I took the dogs on a walk in the nearby park earlier; our weather is gorgeous! Mild temps, sunny, makes it hard to stay indoors.
No comments:
Post a Comment