The Freezer Has Arrived & Case Dismissed

Just in time for the sweltering days of summer (when we aren't dripping from the constant rain), our freezer arrived.
http://bataviablogmistress.blogspot.com/2011/04/new-projects-at-400-towers.html
I don't believe it will fit in the space I hoped would be it's home.  There doesn't appear to be enough clearance on all sides to facilitate proper air flow, so it will have a home around the corner. 
That is a minor inconvenience considering that we now have a place to store ice cream. 
"Around the corner" means in the fitness room open to the residents, guests, and others who roam the halls in the dark of night, 24/7.  So, that means figuring a way to secure it when the shop is closed. 
I suggested a lock, but shop and stock felt that a lock might compromise the warranty. 
He wants a band around it with a sturdy lock - I envision that as some sort of freezer chastity belt. 
I'm sure within the next few days a solution will come forth.
In the meantime, we are employing a leap of faith that no one will take off with our stash of ice cream.

On a happy note,this somewhat chilly day, my friend Chris who was arrested for making a phone call for no legitimate purpose can finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Chris' case was dismissed today. It was a long time coming, but all who know him, knew that it was a bogus charge.

http://thebatavian.com/howard-owens/breaking-harassment-charge-against-chris-charvella-dismissed/26768


http://bataviablogmistress.blogspot.com/2011/06/from-making-phone-call-for-no.html

Is it Friday yet?

This was a hectic week, so hectic I'm not sure where the time went.  The days sped by like a runaway locomotive.
Monday's breakfast went without a hitch.  Gert's scrambled eggs are popular and bring people back week after week.  The tropical fruit breakfast bake was well received, but the surprise star was the impromptu compote made from the leftover fruit.  I just wanted to use it up, so I placed the fruit in the processor and pulsed it a few times.  The folks loved it on their toast.  Who knew?
The arts and crafts group met on Monday afternoon and I finally brought down the supplies I had locked away.  Several members are making up prototype teddy bears; one decided to make baby blocks; and a few others took on more projects.
With our Wii guy in Texas, I have the responsibility to get the Wii up and running in the evening.  I did that on Monday night and let them play until 11pm.  Sadly, this lady was way too tired to sit up while they played until the wee hours of the morning.  Wii and I went to bed at 11.
Worked in the shop on Tuesday and Wednesday.  On Wednesday night I made my spaghetti sauce and meatballs for Thursday's lunch. 
We had no idea who, if any, would show up for Thursday's lunch since at 5pm, Care-A-Van would be here to host their annual picnic for the residents.  One of my helpers suggested I cancel the lunch, but I hesitated doing that.  We are advertised as having a lunch and I felt we should keep to our promise.
As it turned out, we had almost 30 for lunch.  Care-A-Van served 60 at the picnic.  Between us, we fed the multitudes. 
Today!  I did paperwork all morning.  The newsletter is finished and put to bed.  The first two pages had to be edited due to late breaking news.  I completed the list of volunteers to make sure that all are recognized at the Residents picnic on July 17.  The poster for the 4th of July Pot Luck Picnic is done and up.  I worked the shop from Noon to 3.
My weekend plans were changed at the last minute which resulted in a mad dash to do laundry. 
Stafford's carnival is this weekend.  I'm going to miss it. 
For all the dads reading this, an early happy fathers' day. Hope you all get to do fun things this weekend.

Who Are You?

I often wonder who is checking on my site.  The report only tells me the country (and, in the US, the city or town). 
In many cases, I can figure it out by those who come in through Facebook.  These are people who are my FB friends. 
Sometimes, when it shows that the person came from another site, I won't know who it is, but I know we share common interests.
Quite often someone just stumbles on it while searching for something else.  I'm sure they don't plan to stop in Genesee Co.
A visitor from Darien Center, right here in Genesee Co. has me stumped.  Whomever it is doesn't come from FB; and they aren't just 'searching'.  They are looking for "bataviablogmistress", so they must know who I am.  I can count on one hand the number of people I know from that end of the county. 
So, it becomes a puzzle to be solved. 
What I know:
The person is either an early riser or works nights. 

The visits come at the ungodly hour between 4 and 5am. 
Could it be a dairy farmer having their early morning coffee before milking?  Do I know any dairy farmers in Darien Center?

Could it be someone who works nights and spends their lunch break on their laptop?  Do I know anyone from there who works nights?

Maybe, it is just someone who - like me - has a hard time sleeping through the night and uses that time to check out different sites.  That is a strong possibility. 

For example, I know someone who just bought a car.  There is a problem with the a/c, so this morning - very early this morning - on a hunch - I looked up adjusting a/c for that class vehicle.  The first site I found described the problem to a T, the a/c is pushing out frigid air on the passenger side, but not on the driver side.  The solutions ranged from an easy fix, reconnect a sensor under the hood, to the very expensive replace the a/c programmer.  Between the easy fix and the expensive replacement of the unit was a detailed explanation describing how a tech could remove the dash and repair the problem.  Knowing this would help someone when the vehicle is brought in for repair.  An informed consumer thing.

I hope it helps.

Anyway, whomever you are in Darien Center, please say 'hi, that early morning person is me' the next time we meet. 
My top countries with hits of twenty or more?
United States, Slovenia, Germany, Canada, United Kingdom, Vietnam, Russia, France, Denmark, Netherlands.
I had a person from the UK read about beef on weck.  She watched the Charlie the Butcher video and commented that she wasn't sure about the safety of the sandwich - or Charlie for that matter.  Why was he wearing a hard hat to make a sandwich?  Good question.

My friend, Jane, in Australia teases me about some of my menu items for The Summer Diner.  They are foreign to her, even with her American son in law helping to describe them.  The most recent was the "slider". 

Have a wonderful Sunday :)

Alexander's Fire Dept Band. Always a Treat

Alexander's Fire Dept Band gave the residents of 400 Towers a full blown concert that lasted over a hour after they marched in the St. Joseph's Parade. They are such a talented group. For those in the know, they did a great job with The Thunderer even though they didn't have a trombone in sight. They had a right handed baritone player and a left handed baritone player, which matched perfect, like bookends.

This young man could certainly have a part in any production of Music Man!

Five, count them, Five Sousaphones (but no trombones) 

The percussion, as usual, had fun.

I wish you could see this guy twirl those sticks

I'm a sucker for 'real' marching band music.  I enjoyed listening to Byron/Bergen and Pembroke's bands, but I still prefer a Sousa march in a parade.  I still hum the low brass part of any piece that is played.  I guess I always will.

There was a new band that led the parade, I have the guy's card.  They have an eight piece big dance band that I would love to get for our Christmas party.  I'll have to pin a note on the wall to remind me to call him.

 

From the "Making a Phone Call For No Legitimate Purpose" File

Making a Phone Call For No Legitimate Purpose File



Remember reading about my friend, Chris?

Chris had a rather odd event at election time last year.

He found a political sign on his property for a candidate he did not endorse nor support.

Chris was upset that someone would place that sign and wrote a blog about it.  In his blog, he gave the person he suspected of placing the sign a humerous name. 

Within the next day or two, he found a new sign on his lawn that was autographed with that humerous name.

That person happens to be a Genesee Co. Legislator.  His contact information is easily found on the Genesee Co. website.  Chris called him and thanked him for reading his blog.

On election day, Chris was handcuffed and arrested for making a phone call with no legitimate purpose.

This comes from the file cabinet:

http://bataviablogmistress.blogspot.com/2011/02/making-phone-call-for-no-legitimate.html

Today, almost a year later, Chris was in court.

Thebatavian.com covered the hearing:

http://thebatavian.com/howard-owens/attorneys-argue-over-ewoks-phone-calls-and-free-speech-chris-charvella-case/26481

Just thought I'd keep you updated on this ongoing saga that is wasting Genesee Co. taxpayers money.

Anthony Weiner and the Stupid Pill

The Stupid Pill


I'm not sure where one goes to get this special pill, but politicians seem to have a direct line to the dealer.

I can remember, a few months ago, singing the praises of Anthony Weiner to my friend, Dan. Dan is far more politically savvy than I'll ever be and he didn't seem to share my enthusiasm.

I pressed on about what a bright star Weiner was and I could see a successful future for him.

As we all know, Weiner took the stupid pill.

He isn't alone. Bob Livingston (the man who could have been the GOP Speaker of the House), while pushing for President Clinton's impeachment and resignation, was having an illicit affair. His replacement, Vitter, who ran on family values, was one of the Washington madam's customers.

Clinton took the stupid pill. Livingston and Vitter swallowed it whole.

It behooves me to understand what possesses men,in the public spotlight, to jeopardize their reputations and political careers by ingesting that stupid pill.

We just had an election that sent Kathy Hochul to Washington to take Chris Lee's seat.

Ah, Chris Lee. He took the stupid pill, then went to Craiglist to solicit sex. By the way, where is he now?

Should Weiner resign? I'm torn on that question.

Weiner did the unthinkable. He lied to the press. He had them eating out of his hand for a long time. They liked him and they trusted him.

He broke that trust. The press; the talking heads on cable tv; and, of course, the right wing radio personalities went for blood.

Politicians are human. Humans make mistakes, some more serious than others.

Our puritan instincts want to shun any politician who breaks their marriage vows. It shows a character flaw that is difficult to forgive. We've learned, over the years, that it is part of the poltical game to be 'shocked' by the news that a politician took that stupid pill. We've learned, over the years, that the same politicians who are calling for the head of one 'outed' are also gobbling the same pills.

No doubt, each of them believes that they can govern dispite that character flaw. Perhaps they can. Since we don't know how many are on the stupid pill, we'll never know.

Anthony Weiner has a lot to think about.  What his future holds and how he conducts his life are decisions only he can make. 

Ya Ought to See the Other Guy - or The Eye and I and Anthony Weiner

Sunday night, just as I was getting ready for bed, disaster struck.
I didn't really think it was a major disaster, just one of those icky things that happens once in a while.
My right eye felt like it had a lash in it.
We've all been through that.  It will tear and eventually the lash will come out in the tears.
Or so I thought.
I went to bed, hoping that the tears would work their magic.
They didn't.
By morning, my head felt it would explode from the pain in my eye.
If I held my right eye closed, the left eye would stay open for a bit but then it would close too leaving me in my own world of blackness.
It was 6am and I should already be downstairs in the kitchen preparing to serve about 25 people breakfast.  I stood up gingerly, trying not to move my head.  My phone was ringing.  I made my way to the phone and told my right hand kitchenperson I'd be down in a few minutes.
I remember whimpering, "There is something wrong and I don't know what to do.".
Throwing clothes on, I made my way downstairs while holding that eye closed.
Although common sense told me that my eye was firmly attached to the socket, I feared letting go of it for fear that it would roll onto the floor.  Pain does funny things.
I tried to clear my head enough to make sense of the plan for the morning.  We'd serve two meals instead of three.  The volunteers had worked together long enough to know the routine.  A neighbor offered to take me to the emergency room.  An offer I gladly welcomed.
By the time we made it the four blocks to the hospital, the left eye gave up and refused to open.  My neighbor, Jim, led me from the car to the waiting room.  Jim crooned to me the entire time I was in the waiting room.  "It's going to be okay.  You'll be fine.  I'm right here.  I'm not going anywhere.".  I tried to tell him to go home and I'd call for a ride when they released me, but he wouldn't hear of it.  "Dottie would kill me if I left you alone.", he said about his wife.  Jim was true to his word.  He was my knight in shining armor that morning.
Once in the examing room, it was determined that I had scratched the lens.  The doctor ordered a salve to be squeezed into the eye and assured me that the scratch would heal, on it's own, in a few days.  I don't mind saying that, at that moment, I was extremely dubious about that claim.
Enter Nurse Rachet!
I don't know her name, but I'll find out when I can really read again.  In she came with the tube of salve.  She applied the salve, walked to the doorway and told me to follow her so she could give me an eye exam.
Follow her???  I needed a guide dog to get me into the examing room.
So, holding my eye and praying my left eye would stay open, I wobbled to the area where they had the eye chart.
"Cover your right eye and find the line you can read without difficulty", she commanded.
My first instint was to just say, "E".
But, I gave it my best shot and read a line that looked good.
I know I blew it.
Then, she asked me to cover the left eye and read the chart.
The right eye, filled with salve, tearing, and not cooperating at all, gave up the ghost.
I admitted I couldn't read a letter on the chart.
"Do you wear glasses?", she asked.
"Yes.", said I.
"Well there is something up with your eyesight, you should see an eye doctor.", she proclaimed.
Something wrong with my eyesight?  Ya think? 
In her head, I could see her thinking...

She took me back to the examing room, handed me the salve, asked me to sign something then pointed to a spot around the corner from the desk and said, "that's the way out.".

Once home, I took a pain pill and went to bed.  I had every intention of contacting the lady who was running the Arts and Crafts meeting to tell her I wouldn't be there at 1pm.  I had a cart load of material I planned to bring to that meeting.  It didn't happen.  I slept until 3:30pm

Earlier in the week I arranged with Shop and Stock to be the contact person for the Karaoke entertainer for that evening.  He had the check to pay him.  My original plan was to be off site that evening at another meeting.

Sometime on Sunday, Shop and Stock 'remembered' that he wouldn't be there on Monday night.  I remembered him telling me that at 3:30 on Monday afternoon.  With the guy coming in three hours, I had to find someone who would organized the evening.  I obviously wasn't making my meeting, but I wasn't making it for the entertainment either.

A few phone calls and that was done.  Neither eye wanted to open and all I wanted to do was sleep.

Tuesday morning and afternoon were a blur.  Then, a miracle.  By Tuesday evening I could open my right eye without pain.  By this morning, I could work in the shop, although my vision is still somewhat blurred.

I took this on Tuesday morning just to remind myself NEVER to rub my eye again.  It is reversed, for some reason.  All I could think of when I say it, was, "Ya ought to see the other guy!".

So, what happens while I'm listening to my TV on Monday?  Anthony Weiner decides to fess up and tell the country that he lied about sending explicit photos of himself to people on Twitter.  I admit that I wasn't suprised by this revelation.  I gave him the benefit of the doubt because I really, really, really like this guy. 

I so much wanted to post about this on Monday, but was helpless to do so.

I will in the next couple of days, but not quite up to it yet.



Money Laundering

It started out so innocently.   I wrote a check and put it in the bank bag, taking out matching funds to cover a few shopping needs.
That evening, while S&S was figuring out the books for the day, he asked "what's with the check?".
I went through a long and rambling explanation.  "I understand all that, but why did you write the check to these people?".  I looked at the check and realized that I mistakingly wrote it out to the wrong place.
"No problem, I'll go up and replace it with another one."
So, up I went to get the check.  While I was there, I grabbed a basket of laundry to throw in the washer.
I dropped off the check and went to start my laundry.
While I waited to put the clothes in the dryer, I went into the community room and played a fast game of Wii bowling.  The game ended just when the washer stopped.   I took out the clothes and came up with a clump of wet paper.  I thought I may have left a napkin in a pocket.  A few more clothes and I felt something hard in the next shirt.  Out tumbled my wallet.  Everything in it was soak and wet, including the money.  Carefully, I removed the rest of the laundry.  No more surprises, so I started the dryer and went upstairs to lay out my wet documents to dry.
A hour later, I opened the dryer and took out the lint trap.  I've never seen that much lint in that trap.  It was almost like a single piece of fuzzy material. 
I retrieved the clump of wet paper and started to peel away the layers.  Then I realized what I did.
My wallet and checkbook were sitting on the clothes.  When I dumped the clothes into the washing machine, I dumped both the wallet and checkbook in too.  Thus, I'm guilty of laundering money.

On a more pleasant note, the turkey sandwich was a big hit for today's lunch in The Summer Diner.
The spinach, artichoke hearts, and asiago cheese gave it a subtle flavor and the grilled onions (I sauted them with bacon cut into cubes) made the dish.  I'm already getting requests to have it on the menu again.
Another menu item was egg and black olive sandwich served with a tall glass of iced limeade.  We sold out that one.  The last item on the menu was a Ballpark beef frank done on the outdoor grill.  That is always a favorite.