too short? too tall? just right

So, we decided to get a new mattress. Not that there was anything wrong with the one we had, mind you, but we had a brass bed frame given to us which we want to use as a guest bed. It is a full size, which is why no one else wanted it probably. Since we needed a mattress, I was not about to buy a new one for the guest bed when we have been using the one we bought in 1987. Yeah, I know- no one keeps a mattress that long apparently. We haven't had any problems with ours- it isn't lumpy or saggy and will do fine for guests that we have 2 or 3 times a year. We won't dwell on the fact that it's 3 years away from being technically an antique.

I'm back- I just had to Google antique to find out if there was an age range for the definition. I found this:

Motor vehicles, power tools and other items subject to vigorous use may be considered antiques in the U.S. if older than 25 years.

Not going there.

Our wooden headboard/footboard was made to fit full or queen size mattress, so we were told. The posts do have two slots for the slat hooky things,we measured the length too and seemed all set and decided to upgrade from our full to a queen. We settled on the store and mattress and bought one "in stock" which in salesman terms means we can get it from our warehouse and deliver it in a week. On the day I was going to RI and pick up my parents for their visit, during which they will sleep on the guest bed which currently had no mattress.

Wednesday morning I lugged the mattress and upstairs and got the bed ready for my folks, switched our rails to the outer positions, widened the slats and got the little extra leg supports all set. Delivery was between 1 and 3, and they said they would try for 1- 1:30. J got home at 2, no bed in sight and I left for RI, jokingly telling him not to touch the bed upstairs.

We got back the next day to find a note saying "It didn't fit the bed" and the slats lying on the floor along with a hammer. The 'good' news was that poor J slept on the couch rather then messing up the guest bed. Since our rails were too short, we laid the set on the floor last night and bought new ones today. The new mattress sets are so much bigger than the old ones that it comes up to my waist now. We need those little bed steps!

So. Too short on the floor, too tall in the frame. Do we go back again to the store and get the bed frames that will attach only to the headboard and be lower? I guess we do. What a pain in the kazoo this has been.

I must say the mattress is comfortable but I hope I don't fall off it tonight. Not that I usually fall out of bed. Just saying.

Eyes in the back of my head

All parents have them, right? Those mysterious eyes in the back of your head that see what kids are doing, even upstairs or in the way back of the car? Well, you can see mine now.

That's what it looks like anyway. I was cutting my hair this morning and the attachment came off the clipper at the back of my head. First thought, "that probably doesn't look good". The mirror confirmed that it was indeed a very visible patch of extremely short (as in not there) hair and very white skin. Bummer.

I have always told my kids, "Hair grows back". This was my response to any botched haircut, bad perm, or bad decision. But, family reunion in 4 days- even my hair doesn't grow that quickly. So, I mowed the lawn today, hoping to tan the spot so it doesn't glare quite so much. J says it's still white.

Some of the relatives going to this reunion I have not met, or if I did, I was too young to remember. Not that first , and probably only, impression I was hoping for. Oh well, that's the way it goes. I can wear a cap, I guess. At least I have my sparkly earrings to show I am a girl.

Speaking of earrings, I figured I'd remove them to make sure they were healing alright. They seemed to be, but one was a little swollen, although that could be because Rosie jumped up and hit it the other day. Removed them just fine, looked good, and went to put them back in. Memories of helping the girls had prepared me for a little difficulty and I managed the right ear. However, I could not get the left earring at the correct angle, and couldn't see it in the mirror so kept jabbing around the middle of the lobe. Yuck.

J, like many men his age anyway, had very little to do with any icky stuff with the kids and to this day I get to clean up the dog barf and/or poop. So, he was not happy when he had to poke the post through for me. He did it, and walked out saying "Don't ever take them out again". Okay, hon.

Closed Captioning for the Curious

Wouldn't it be nice if people would post a sign informing passersby what they are doing in their front yards? Back yards, inside houses, I don't care- I don't see any activity so no problem, you can keep that private. But in a small town, where Main Street is just that, the main drag, I want to know what they are doing when I keep driving by!

One house to the south of us had been vacant for some time, and we kept an eye on it's separate garage/barn as we drove by, to see if leaning was going to develop into collapsing. It was sold a couple of weeks ago, and the hayfield lawn was mowed. Then, the barn was burned down(on purpose) and cleaned up. Yesterday, we saw forms in place, but couldn't figure out what for, and we looked going and coming home again. There are two large openings in front, which could be garage doors, or windows, as in a split level. Since the walls appear to be going up 3 or 4 feet, we are unsure if it is a garage or barn replacement, or are they building a new house, and will tear down the little old one when they move in? I told J that a sign should be out front, like when a bank is built, so everyone knows what's coming.

Then, today THREE separate, interesting but ambiguous activities were spotted. All within a one mile span, no less. First, a young man was setting up a video camera on a tripod outside a front door where nothing was going on. There were several vehicles in the drive, with, I assume, their drivers watching and waiting for the action to begin. 45 minutes later, home from grocery shopping, still people out front, and what looks like a telescope on the tripod. Hmm. Something celestial going on tonight that we don't know about? Later still, while going to the transfer station, we see the young man is now standing in the back of a pickup with a microphone on a boom(that's the pole thingy, right?) Still no apparent reason for recording.

Second item: Older man in a gray coverall standing in a hole which presumably he has dug. It is grave shaped and sized, although only knee deep. Nice sharp corners too. On the way back, he was out of the hole, gazing down into it. Deep enough, was it sir?

And thirdly, a window has been removed from the end of a house, and the framing is gone down to the sill. J got a glimpse inside and said it looked like their kitchen had older metal cabinets like ours did when we moved in. Interesting. I can't remember if there was one or two windows there, but the opening is big enough now for french doors, although there would be quite a drop once you stepped out. Perhaps they are planning a small deck too? Or maybe they had a leaky window and had to remove rotten wood and will just replace it with a picture window now. Are they redoing the entire kitchen?

We don't know any of these people so will not be able to relieve our curiosity except by keeping up the peeping as we drive by. Maybe when we start our workshop later this year, we should post a sign.

YES, WE ARE BUILDING A WORKSHOP.

NOPE, NOT A GARAGE ALTHOUGH YOU'RE RIGHT
WE DON'T HAVE ONE AND WE SHOULD.

YEP, WE ARE DOING IT OURSELVES, SO IT
WILL TAKE AWHILE BEFORE YOU SEE IT
COMPLETED.

WELL, WE ARE THINKING OF WHITEWASHING IT,
SO IT WILL LOOK LIKE OUR CURRENT SHED AND
CHICKEN COOP.

IF YOU SEE LEGS STICKING OUT FROM UNDER
SOME WOOD, PLEASE CALL 911.

All the pretty horses

Exciting finish to Thursday. Another horse escape, this time both got out and away. Once again, a kind lady knocks on our door, I stumble through three barking dogs to answer it, and I can't turn the knob because she is holding on to it so tightly. Probably afraid that my dogs will leap out and go the way of the horses, after trampling her to the ground. (We have a sliding screen door to separate the cat from the dogs, and she could see me pulling them back).

Here's a picture- of course the cats are supposed to use a little door at the bottom, not climb over it. And I see J's little skeletons hanging from it, so it must have been Halloween. Which is probably what drew the cats up in the first place!



Anyway, back to the horse roundup. The nice lady points a quarter mile down the road to where she last saw them. We call the owners, grab two dog leashes and set off. Further down, we see a car with it's hazard lights on, so we pull into that driveway, where we find our neighbor, our computer guy. He says the horses headed down to a field,(which has not been cut this year, so the grass is waist high, and soaking wet). Another nice neighbor lady- they're everywhere!- calls down from a second story window that the horses went that-a-way. Apparently she was enjoying the show.

So I slog into the grass, and the guys head back to get the cars and drive to the 3rd point of the triangle. Thank goodness the horses headed back towards me and not away. We met in a very nicely landscaped yard, and I clucked to them- I think they were glad to see someone they knew and came right over. We paraded out to the road, where owners had bridles and grain buckets, plus a policeman who looked about 14 and relieved that he didn't have to take any action. J and I quickly drove home, leaving the horse owners to do any apologizing or explaining.