Burdens, Continued.
Remember the whole gun safe incident? Well, I'm happy to report (no, really, I am) that I was wrong and Kevin was right. He went to the doctor for x-rays, and his thumb was not broken, but had suffered, instead, a severe contusion. It's still dang swollen and very, very sore, and throbbed an extra measure every time he walked past the gun safe still sitting in the garage. Until last night. He called a moving company that does delivery for the place where he bought the safe, and they came with the proper equipment and TWO people, and got the job done quickly and efficiently. They left a couple of cards on the counter, along with the receipt. One was turned over and said this: If you...
Thoughts from the Abbey
I love Downton Abbey. Really, really love it. I know I'm not alone, and I also know there were millions viewing last night's first episode of Season 4 right along with me. What I'm about to say does not require a spoiler alert, as it's been in all the trailers for the season, so don't worry if you haven't yet fired up the DVR. I'll be kind. However, for those who haven't watched the series, and might like to, I'm going to be vague so as to not give a big twist in last season's story line away. Last night, there was a beautiful conversation between a grandmother and her granddaughter who was grief-stricken from a great loss. Buried for months by despair, the granddaughter was...
Burdens
Kevin recently bought a 500 lb. gun safe. We've needed it for some time, but we needed one that was a specific size, to fit into a specific place, and he finally found one. Since we have a diesel pickup, he declined the delivery without a thought, and he and Maddie managed to get it unloaded into the garage. He got the space prepared for it, then, yesterday, got it loaded onto a dolly, and started trucking it into the house. But it had to go over some grass to get to the easiest entrance, and Maddie wasn't home. (I have to insert, here, that Maddie works and breaks horses 24/7. Girlfriend is very strong and the complete opposite of her inept mother in cases such as this.) This was...
On Going Solar
Someone recently told Kevin that the cost of solar had really come down. We'd talked about going solar if we ever built another house (as that's the least expensive time to do it), but since we just moved into this one, and because it's very well insulated and our bills are pretty reasonable, we never really discussed it again. However, after hearing that statement, we had a company come and give us a bid on converting our home and barn. We were pretty sure we had a perfect set up for it. And we were right. They said we were situated perfectly, and had great roof space, especially on the riding arena, to load us up with all the panels we would ever need. They told us about all the...
Wait…What?
I read it in an article yesterday. Here's the title: 'Selfie' is 2013's Most Overused Word. Please stop." First of all, YES. PLEASE STOP. Second of all, selfie? Really? This is, at once, both horrifying and understandable. Horrifying because cameras were initially invented to take pictures of other things and other people. Certainly, there was the occasional self-portrait to mark a momentous occasion, or to give to someone special, but for the most part, the lens was outward-facing, taking in the world beyond and capturing it as it was, in that moment, for all posterity. But it's also sadly understandable. We are a society that is increasingly self-centered, self-focused,...