Another day, another dollar… well another 70 cents actually after you factor in taxes, health insurance, 401k etc., and with that 70 cents I can start to pay bills. Thought I would write a bit since it’s been a while since I’ve put anything up while i kill time at work on a gameday waiting for the usual game traffic coming to see the game. Don’t think it will be all that busy since its just Wyoming and not USC or something.
My Grandpa Raymond up in Minnesota died since I last wrote. I can’t say I was all that close to him, I don’t believe that I’ve seen or talked to him since my Great Grandma died in 1996 or 97, but I do have fond memories of when I was a child when he visited quite a bit. We were friends on Facebook, not that that’s real or anything but i guess it let him keep up with what was going on with us. Ray was a bit of a “rolling stone”, not in the aging rocker sort of way, but in its original context of a person that never seemed to stay too long in one place during his life. He was married I don’t know how many times, four I think, and had some children along the way. Gotta do what makes you happy in life I suppose, but since I was a part of his “first” family it just kind of makes me sad that we all weren’t closer than we were. My brother Adam and I drove up with my mom up to Minnesota to attend the services. It was really strange, I didn’t really know anyone there at all except my Uncle Randy who I also haven’t seen in like 15 years. I had never met my step grandma Vonnie even though they had been married for going on 20 years. Honestly, going to the funeral felt like opening the paper and picking someone out of the obituaries and then crashing the services. People kept asking who I was and I would reply that I was Steve, Ray’s oldest grandchild and they would be like… Ohhhhh… Ok… Just very awkward feeling, but oh well. We made the trip up and paid our respects and saw where he lived the last couple decades of his life and now I guess it’s time to move on.
Jessica and the boy just got back from being gone for a week and a half or so. Jessica’s mom got her hip replaced and since her dad is also extremely limited in his mobility and can’t really assist her all that much she went up there to give them a hand until she could get back on her feet enough to gimp around on her own. From all the people that have had it done they say its the best thing they have ever done so hopefully she gets all her physical therapy done and gets back up to full speed again without any pain.
While Jessica and Alexander were gone I pretty much just picked up overtime at work so I wouldn’t have to sit at home by myself, which is good because we need the money anyway. Jessica is due to come off work again for the winter so we always need some savings built up, plus the water heater just crapped out so there’s a good sized bill to take care of. I can’t say that it wasn’t expected, the water heater in the house was twenty two years old and they normally only last for ten so it was waaaaay overdue. Luckily it wasn’t a catastrophic failure and is just leaking so there’s time to limp it through for a couple weeks until I get the new one in and get it installed. Aaah the joys of home ownership right? I think I would need like two hundred grand to do all the stuff I want to do to that place… Let me rephrase that, all the stuff I want to pay someone else to do to that place, since I’m not all that good at it. I’m a handy person and can do just about anything with good instruction, I just don’t have the knowledge when it comes to home repairs yet. They say the way to do that is to get in there and do it and fail catastrophically the first time around, which I’m doing just fine at so far.
That’s all for today, Go Big Red!
Thank you again for coming along to Minnesota, it would have been much harder for me if your brother and you hadn’t come along. I’m glad that Jessica and Alexander are back home and Julie is recovering. I look forward to seeing you guys again in September for Pat’s wedding. Oh, and by the way…you need to search the internet for instructions on how to replace toilet parts so you know how to fix the one in your basement LOL. Ok, see you soon, I love you!
There will be no replacing parts on that thing, when the time comes the whole thing will go. I would keep it if I could ever get it clean and like new looking because it’s one of those high powered old school ones that actually flush. Until it starts making a big mess all over though I’ve got higher priorities to spend money on than that thing so it will probably stay the way it is.