There was a knock at the door last night. It was Stephen. I didn't expect him back so soon. He was to stay in a detox center for two weeks. He got cleaned out in only one week. We're back to chaos, noise, clutter and disruption. I love my grandson, but can't stand all this disorganization. His space in the room He shares with his brother is a mess. At the moment, they're both messy. Then, there is the telephone. His girlfriend calls all the time. There were times when she called every ten minutes. If I answered, she would hang up. She thinks I am rude because I get annoyed with the phone calls. Finally I told Stephen last night, that only one phone calls from Allyson would have to do it. One call a day. Get your thoughts organized and say what you have to say. The rest can wait for the next day.
Today I plan on making a point of their stuff that is all over. I told Stephen He could hang his suit in my closet. He took over the entire closet. I shall correct this taking advantage of me right away. Stephen isn't staying with me on a permanent basis. He is waiting for another residential program. I said He could store his things in my garage....not all over the floor. Today shall be laundry day, sorting and packing up for storage.
The same goes for Chris. I am loaning him a dresser and a work table. These pieces have to go to Melba Street to be set up. His electronics shall be next to be moved. Chris starts a job the middle of November. When He starts work, he is to leave my house, along with all of his possessions. When Chris leaves, Stephen will be asked to leave, too. I feel I am being taken advantage of. Where is the line between helping family members and being taken advantage of? I think We're now past the point of helping. They're young men, not kids. They can stand on their own feet, pay their bills and be responsible for themselves.

I talked both my grandsons into helping in the yard. I want everything in order when it becomes too cold to garden. Chris has weeded the front of the Melba Street house. It is such a relief to see the parking area clear. Stephen cut the back lawn and I cut the front lawn. Stephen trimmed all over. We stand and admire our handiwork. Another chore is to fill in a low spot on Melba Street. If I don't fill in the low spot, it can funnel water towards the house. Chris agrees to do this. I am supplying good mulch to fill in the spot. My mulch pile has been sitting for two years. It is nicely broken down...ready to be spread. With cart and spade, I approach the pile to dig the dirt. The spade goes into the rich brown earth. The only thing is, yellow jackets have set up housekeeping in the mulch pile. They don't want to be evicted. Picture me racing for the house, arms flailing to keep the yellow jackets away from me. It doesn't work. I am stung a dozen times.
The antidote is to take antihistamine. Done.
Well, those bees won the battle, but I will win the war. In the basement, is a bottle of bug killer. I dilute it and pour the whole bottle over the mulch pile. I can smell the chemical smell from a yard away. That should take care of the little bastards.
The next day, I try again to move the mulch pile into the cart. A few shovels...and the yellow jackets come out again! I didn't get them all.
I run for the house, slamming the door. One follows me right into the kitchen porch. They don't give up easily. This time, I have only one sting...on my ear. As Bugs Bunny said, "This, of course you know, means war."

Andy went to a minister in Fort Worth and asked to use his computer. This man has taken a liking to my grandson and wants to help. He visited Andy while Andy was in jail. Andy has a chemical imbalance in his brain. He hears voices. Andy's judgement is way off. He seems to have no sense of self preservation. He thinks that it is other people's responsibility to care for him. He is almost thirty years old. The good shepherd monitored Andy's legal situation and made sure He got legal representation. In my opinion, Andy is damn lucky to meet up with someone like the minister.
Andy emailed me that He has lost his ID card. He can't find his birth certificate. Could it be in my garage where his things are stored? I said I would look. If I find it and send it to him, he probably will lose it again...same as his clothes, his ID card, his painters supplies...every material possession slips right through his hands. He gets his clothes at Good Will or the Salvation Army.
He wants to come north for a visit. This means hanging around my house until he gets thrown out. Nothing will change over time. I tried to help this young man for two years. His illness makes him undo every thing that others have done for him. He causes chaos and damage, stress. Finally, He leaves. I can't go through this again. Andy will have to depend upon the resources of the mental health professionals. I am too old for this situation...but I will look for his copy of his birth certificate so He can cash his SSI checks. No one in the family expects Andy to make it to old age....maybe not even middle age. Sad reality.

Saturday, Chris and I went to pick up his Jetta. The salesperson said that they had forgotten to lock the car at night. Over night, someone stole the radio out of the car. The salesperson said that they would put another radio in the car. This would be another delay. Chris was upset. He needed to drive it by Monday. I remembered that I had a Pioneer car radio in my basement. Would Chris want it, instead of "any old" radio that the sales staff would have installed? Stephen would install it for his brother. Good idea. Chris told the staff person that His car deal included a radio. However, He would be willing to to swap the plates and registration costs for the missing radio. The lady agreed.
Chris took his car home without a radio. I gave him the one I had. It was brand new. It was the one with the face plate that was stolen when it was in my truck. I have since purchased a new face plate, but have also had a radio installed in my truck. My Pioneer radio is surplus. I am glad that the car raido has a new home. Now to get Stephen to install it...same as he installed mine. When this radio is installed, Chris will have excellent sound in his Jetta. I think the thief did Chris a favor.

Chris is off to a staff meeting. He took my truck...probably the last time He will need it. When He comes back from the meeting, He will pick up his own vehicle...a Volkswagen Jetta. Chris is pretty excited about picking up his new (to him) car...and his new job. He has made the leap from jobs that merely paid the bills...working in the mall, making sandwiches or selling gadgets. He now has a career in the insurance business.
I retired from the Loss Control Department of a large insurance company. If you told me before I started that job, that it would be my best job and that I would love it, I would have said that you are nuts. Insurance is dry as dust. This is not true. I worked with the most professional people I have ever worked with. ..compared to my other working experiences in education and social services I never knew how much bull shit I was putting up with in education, until I got out in the business world. They're efficient and effective. There is no time for b.s.
Anyways, Chris is excited about his new job. He is studying to pass the state test. He has a new wardrobe. No more jeans and tee shirts to work. Best of all, He gets a decent wage.

Last Friday, I took Rascal to a vet surgery center for an MRI. Her vet said they needed the test to better see where her injury was...and make a good decision about what to do for her. I took her in. She lay on the passenger side of my truck and looked up at me several times. She looked right in my eyes. To think of this, tears me up. At the surgery center, they said they will go right ahead with the operation because she would all ready be under the anesthetic. I said OK. The nurse said they will call me about 5PM to let me know that Rascal is awake. I said OK. On the way home, I ate breakfast out. As I got in the door, the phone was ringing. It was the surgeon. He said that Rascal's heart stopped on the table. They never did the MRI. They got her heart started again and put her in the ICU. She got very good medical care. I said to him that if her heart was that weak, she probably would not survive the surgery and if she survived it, the result of the surgery would not be a full restoration of her mobility. She would not want to live like that. I gave the surgeon permission to stop trying to keep her alive. My lovely dog died at 11:15 that morning. She was only 7 years old. There is a big void in the house now. It will take some effort to get used to a quiet house. ..no barking....no food dishes out...I can leave the door open and not worry she would escape....It is awful.

The rehab project across the street is coming along. I made a bet with the new owner that he will go over budget. He took the bet. He is a contractor and used to budgets, materials, etc. He is pretty sure He can stay within his budget. Bill has empties at least 5 dumpsters. One of them was full of metal. Prices for scrap metal is pretty good at the moment, so He made some money on that one. All it did was pay for another dumpster...that had to be dumped where ever construction material goes. (It goes to construction heaven?) All the plaster is taken down from walls and ceiling. Bill hires day labor to sweep up tons of plaster dust. A new roof is on. The old siding is being ripped off.
I am relieved that Bob's old house is being saved. Bill reports that the house's "bones" are sturdy. If they weren't, He would have torn the house down. Bill bought a double lot. There is lots of room there. Neighbors were concerned that some builder would put up a condo and call it affordable housing. This, in a neighborhood of colonial single family houses built about 1920. The character of the circle would have been ruined.
Bill talked to Chris about his boat...still sitting on the lot next door. After the two crunched numbers, it was decided that it wasn't worth it to fix the boat. Chris can get another and better boat for the cost of repairing this one. The boat went into the dumpster. Now I have a boat trailer that I don't want. It probably will be sold in the spring.
One thing I am sorry about is Bill cleared his lot next door. He cut down the pear tree and the apple tree. My opinion is that when he gets around to putting a single family house on it, the old apple and pear trees would look charming. My pear tree needs his pear tree for cross pollination...darn it. I probably will have to plant another pear tree on my property.