Family | Piss and Moan

I just knew it

Posted on September 10, 2019 by backuphill

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Ever had that moment of regret where you knew better but did it anyway?

Ever had that moment where your mind tells you, You’ve done this before and it didn’t work. Don’t do it again.

Why do we not listen to our inner voice? Why do we choose to ignore all the red flags and past experiences we have had only to find ourselves in a familiar place with familiar regrets?

My eyes are telling me that. They have been telling me that for at least a week, probably more. Maybe about a month. I should probably do something about it.

I was at Costco a while back and I was in need of contact solution. Many years back I had messed around with trying different brands, only to find that the Bausch & Lomb really WAS the best. So, I haven’t ever deviated from that brand since.

Well, dang it, my eyes observed a deal in the Kirkland brand solution (even though it has been tried in the past). Three bottles of solution for half the price the stuff I normally buy. Maybe it’s time to try it again. Hey, it’s made by a name brand company but just bottled under the Kirkland name. It can’t be as bad as I remember.

My inner voice needs a beating.

Seriously, someone needs to beat that guy up. He tells me not to do it and then turns right around and rationalizes doing it. Way to watch out for my me, inner voice.

My eyes are not as comfortable as they have been in the past and they can definitely tell the solution isn’t the same. My eyes are dried out and they always feel like they do when I am tired and as though I have worn my contacts for several days without taking them out.

Stupid inner voice. I gotta stop listening to that guy. No, I need to start listening to that guy. Wait, I can’t do both.

Inner voice, what should I do?

Park not!

Posted on September 4, 2019 by backuphill

photo of brown labrador retriever sitting in front of driveway

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Get your #@$%&#! car off my driveway!

Alright, bear with me here. I am trying really hard to not be an arse-hole, but when someone does something blatantly just because they can when they know they shouldn’t…well, that just burns the hell outta me. Do you think I am being unreasonable?

When I first moved into my current house, it had a gravel driveway. I didn’t like it (call me a sissy if you want) because when I washed the car I would drag the hose around and then it would be covered in small bits of gravel and dirt and not very pleasant to pick up because it was all grimy.

Anyway, I happened to fall into an opportunity to get it blacktopped. So, now it is a nice smooth and surface to park on and to wash the cars on. Now, it’s been nine years since the blacktop was done. It has been seal-coated twice in that time and it continues to show signs of wear over time. It’s starting to crumble on the edges. Its starting to crack where tree roots exist under the driveway. It is starting to sag in one spot where a heavy city truck decided to turn around in our driveway. And, there are some spots of the driveway from where vehicles have dripped fluids.

There’s where the rub comes in! I know EVERY single drip spot on the driveway and pay close attention to them. They are signs to me. They tell me if something on the vehicle needs attention. At a time in the past there was a car that parked in the driveway (because it was mine) that dripped an awful lot until it was replaced. Why did I park it in the driveway and let it leave spots on the driveway? Because it’s MY driveway!

So, now the issue. There are others who have parked on the driveway who also have vehicles that drip fluids. They know this. It isn’t a something they didn’t know about. It wasn’t new to them. I have asked them not to park in the driveway because I don’t want extra spots on the driveway that need to be cleaned the next time maintenance needs to be done. Plus, it causes me stress not knowing if it came from one of our vehicles or not and then I have to figure it out. So, there are several other places to park that are close to the house that is in gravel or grass where they can drip away and it isn’t inconvenient at all.

But NOOOOOO, they still park in the driveway like they live here! It just burns me up. The disrespect is irritating. Are they doing it on purpose? I don’t know. Did they honestly forget? I don’t know and I don’t care.

Just don’t do it! It’s mine and I don’t wanna share with your POS car! Go away and take your car with you! Don’t come back until you figure out where to properly park!

Am I being unreasonable? Unfair? Possessive? Or, is what I have requested reasonable?

Stiff and sore

Posted on September 3, 2019 by backuphill

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All that work on the house and in the yard yesterday has me moving much slower today. Age isn’t just a number, so don’t listen.

I suppose if I did this stuff on a regular basis, I would be less sore. But, climbing up and down a ladder repeatedly to put up gutter guards and using the shears to cut down bushes aren’t something that happens regularly, so that little piece of advice goes in one ear and out the other.

OK, OK, being more physically active would be better, I know.

But today, just let me wallow in my tired, stiff and sore irritation. It’s just best for everyone.

Ownership

Posted on September 2, 2019 by backuphill

blue and gray concrete house with attic during twilight

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There used to be some advertising out there that said, “Ownership has its privileges.” It was something to that effect. I think it was American Express that used to say “Membership has its privileges.” It doesn’t really matter who said what though.

As I sit here on Labor Day and ponder the long list of “To Do” items I have I am starting to wonder if ownership really has its privileges. The “to do” list that needs to be completed before the Fall weather begins to set in is rather daunting and the house seemingly is in constant need of something – repair, upkeep, upgrade…

It’s tiring. It’s costly. It’s annoying.

I have experience all the living situations. Growing up, of course, and living with my parents we were always asked to do chores and we did them. After moving out, I have had apartments that had virtually no upkeep on my part. The apartment life eventually led to the desire to “have my own place” instead of paying someone for their ownership. I have owned my own home and I really like the yard work. There was something different about it when it was my own yard rather than my parents’ yard. I didn’t mind the work, at least for a while. I have owned a condo where the yard work was all done by the HOA and really there was veery little that needed to be done as far as maintenance goes. But, eventually, that feeling of wanting a yard of my own came back again. Well, I once again own a home and I have tired of work that has to go into it. Just the every day upkeep can get overwhelming but then add the looming big expenses like roof replacement, house painting, crawl space cleanup, landscaping…the list never ends!

Is it really a perk to own your own place when, after all, you still face stupid regulations from the city and county about what you can do with your own property? You may not be able to do what you really want to do, so is it really a perk?

I am starting to question the ownership thing and I am also beginning to yearn for the condo days again.

Some days “adulting” can be a real bummer. I am about to labor all day in the yard and on or around the house on Labor Day.

Happy not really a day off because life keeps up.

Air mattress

Posted on August 26, 2019 by backuphill

Photo by Felipe Hueb on Pexels.com

I am too old for this crap.

Sleeping on an air mattress just isn’t what it used to be, especially if you are going to a friend’s house who has the room for a guest bedroom but doesn’t use it that way.

What is it with air mattresses and the actual fact that they need to keep air in them? Are they made so cheaply that the materials just can’t hold up to more than a couple uses? I mean really??

The first night on the air mattress had me almost nearly on the floor by the time morning came. OK, well, maybe all the plugs and such weren’t screwed in tightly. I put more air in it before going to bed the second night. It was as full as it could be. It did better the second night, but still lost air and was rather squishy by morning.

My old body can’t handle being that close to the floor. I am now convinced of it.

So, going forward if you see me laying on the floor or ground or on an air mattress assume that I am in distress and call an ambulance. I will be avoiding ground level from now on.

Pick up

Posted on August 20, 2019 by backuphill

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Time for a good ol’ fashioned rant about kids.

What is the freakin’ deal with kids these days? Specifically my own, but really it must be more than just my own. I may be a matter of culture at this point.

Here’s the thing: It doesn’t matter how old they are, they just don’t/won’t pick up after themselves.

When the adult children come over, they leave crap laying around. Stuff they used – dishes, a towel, a coat, shoes, personal possessions…then throw in if they have kids and then there is all their crap spread all over the place like the dang toy chest exploded. The adult kids don’t even pick up after their own kids. They leave stuff in the yard and spread out all over. They leave stuff in the driveway. They leave stuff in the bathroom, living room, etc. You get the point.

We got after them as kids to clean up after themselves. We disposed of things when they didn’t pick up after themselves and being warned. We grounded them. We yelled. Why did the message not get through? Wait, maybe it did. Maybe they are just that lazy that they don’t care. From the oldest to the youngest, it’s a problem. Not they have multiplied and their minions are doing the same thing.

Ugh.

I think I’ll move to Siberia. As least there it will be minimally populated and I won’t have to pick up after people.

Whether they are adults or not, what do you kids do that annoys you?

Seat for one

Posted on August 16, 2019 by backuphill

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It has been a summer of doing stuff on my own. Mostly traveling to different extended family events in other parts of the state. Back forth I go!

Once again, I am off on my own this weekend. The family is going in many different directions and when the kids get to be of the age where they have cars and jobs, they have to start making choices between participation and doing this “adult-ish.”

So, once again, I have reserved a seat for one at a family gathering.

I am not sure if I am complaining or bragging. Sometimes I wish it wasn’t that way, but at other times I don’t mind it because I don’t have to be accountable to or worry about anyone but me. There is freedom in that. I can eat when I want. I can stop on the way there when I want. I can take my time and get there when I want.

OK, I guess I am not really complaining on this when I look at it that way.

Do you value your time alone when you are traveling or would you prefer to do it with others?

Morning minute

Posted on August 14, 2019 by backuphill

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It’s gonna be a busy day. I looked at the schedule for the day ahead and all I can think about is how am I going to get it all done? There is just too much.

If you have been around long enough, you know that I get to telecommute two days a week from home. Normal days are Wednesday and Thursday (with an occasional Tuesday thrown in to make up for a meeting when it comes up during the week).

So, today I am in the garage, which is “my place” in the house, though it isn’t exclusively mine since it is mostly storage for a variety of things. Half the garage is tools and whatnot….and my home office.

It gets warm in here. Or cold in here. Depends on the time of the year because it isn’t that well insulated (well, in some places it isn’t at all). With the weather being warmer these days up in the PNW, the garage has had to have a fan going while I work from home. This morning, while things are quiet in the neighborhood I have opened the door and am letting in the cool air of the morning. It feels good.

I have found like that I like the coolness of the air. The slowness of the morning as I have time to “just be” and time to sip a cup of coffee (or four). It is just nice to take a moment to breathe and to take in the quiet stillness. To watch the sun rise over the tops of the trees. Calm before the storm of the day.

I am getting tired of the constant storm, but the morning minute helps to put my head on straight for the day and look forward.

*raises cup of coffee* Here’s to the cool, quiet mornings, and a chance to breathe. May you also have that moment of the day where you can pause and take it in for a minute.

Where is your place of solace? Where do you like to go when the stress of life gets to be too much? What do you do (or not do)?

Relatively needy

Posted on August 13, 2019 by backuphill

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As you may have read yesterday, there are some relatives staying with us. I have to preface that with the fact that these are in addition to the relatives who have been staying with us in the camper in our yard. So, needless to say, there are quite a few extra people around.

Well, yesterday when I got home, it seemed everyone who doesn’t have permanent residence IN the house needed something. Things they couldn’t take care of themselves or needed assistance with, or even just didn’t take care of themselves even though they caused the issue.

One relative needed help gathering supplies for a campfire in the backyard. Not a hard task, but since I didn’t really want a fire in the backyard pit it was rather irritating. It was just assumed it was OK rather than asking. So as to not make waves, I just did it.

One relative didn’t pick up their crap. So I put it away.

One relative broke a light switch. I went about repairs, only to find that it can’t be fixed and will need to be replaces.

One relative had to tell me, immediately about the day even though she could see that I was busy with other things. She literally followed me around talking while I took care of other stuff.

One relative complained because my face “said I looked like I was irritated.”

All of this was within the first 20 minutes of being home.

I’ll tell you what…some days it just doesn’t pay to go home. Perhaps I’ll not go home for the rest of the week…

Invasion

Posted on August 12, 2019 by backuphill

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Have you ever experienced an invasion?

Not of rodents. Not of insects. Not of a military kind.

But of the family kind?

Relatives have been in town this last week (and one more to go) and it feels a bit like an invasion. Everything in the house has been adjusted for them, the food, the fridge, the sleeping schedule, the bathroom, the furniture, the accommodations, the entertainment, the seemingly openness to communal living…it’s tiring.

It’s an invasion really.

Suddenly life as I have known it is thrown upside down and normal day to day activities take on a new, additional challenge. It’s not good. Really.

I love them. I’ll admit. But they’re tiring. Really tiring. They live life so differently.

The only bright spot in this invasion? They’ll leave.

This invasion will end and they’ll go home. Far, far away.

The normal (whatever that is) life will return.

Anyone else not really enjoy house guests? Family or other?