Guess who showed up?

 It was not the postal person, but my contractor ! He looked at the bathroom ceiling and the fan and his estimate was as I had anticipated, under my deductible. He took photos and documented everything and will provide two copies of the bill to myself and the upstairs neighbor. Neither of us believes she will pay anything toward this. However. there is no need to replace the fan motor as he cleaned it and got it working in short order. It will be a couple of weeks until he can return, but he now knows what needs to be done as far as repairing and painting, a step in the right direction. 

How was your day??

Gorgeous day

 After a night in the 40s, it is a sweet. sunny 64 degrees here. The wee girl had both a late night and a busy morning. She has been in the washing machine, the kitchen sink and the living room playing. After a short nap. she is chasing paper and in love with the crackly sound made against the floor.

I have done the laundry and made a thick minestrone and will re-write and attempt to re-send my still-missing mail. I may nap myself now that Mercy has warmed the bed for me. Napping seems to fuel me for the evening with a kitten who despite my best efforts. prefers to sleep on a schedule opposite to mine.

Here she is enjoying my chair.

MIA

 After stating he would come by last week to see to my bathroom ceiling. my contractor was a no show and he also did not call. He is the second person in as many weeks to do this.

Additionally, a whiney person contacted me complaining that she had heard nothing from me regarding some photos and gifts sent. When I asked whether she received a written thank you from me, she said no. This prompted me to ask others to whom I had written the same quesrion. Mind you. these cards were all mailed the same day. January 7. from the same post office location and were sent locally, to addresses within Florida, Alabama, New Mexico, New Jersey. and Nevada. As of today. none of the cards has made it to the intended recipient. includibg one who lives in my same postal or zip code.

This suggests a problem either at the mailbox, which was outside, or wirhin the post office. After three hours of calls to various post office numbers and slogging through convoluted phone trees, hang ups or unanswered phones, and an attempt to make an online report regarding the missing mail which failed because I lacked a tracking number. I gave up.

Relating this to a cousin was met with, "Here. we have to go inside to mail anything because the outside boxes were broken into so the post office got rid of them."

Mail theft is a thing...

Who knew?

'

Updates

 Mercy and I are fine. She still climbs with all claws extended which has given me lots of scratches and wounds on legs, arms and hands but she is learning and has also grown affectionate with purrs, head butts. licks and a desire to stay near or follow me around. She is also no longer sequestered in the bathroom at night and now sleeps either with me or in her pet stroller and blankets.

I'm sorry about the soup recipe. In future, I'll write down recipe components for anyone interested.

In other news my above stairs neighbor refused a polite offer to have her running toilet fixed at no cost to her from a general conteractor we both know. It would have been a simple install of new parts and possible prevention of the same problem or worse in the future.  She now maintains there is nothing wrong with her toilet and has refused, at the same time admitting she clogged the toilet with dog feces. 

So, if she knew the toilet was clogged and running, why did she not shut off the water to the tank at the knob behind the toilet in her bathroom, especially if she planned to be away from home for a period of time?? Furthermore, why put dog feces down the toilet if one has doggie poop bags and can do so in the dumpster?? We live in a building with fifty-year-old pipes. and if she was going downstairs to leave anyway. the short trip to the dunpster would have been no big deal.

I await the estimate and ceiling repair. And, yes, I do have an opinion about this person and one that has not changed significantly since she moved in eight years ago.

Cheers!

Frigid Wind Chills Plunge Into Florida. (Multiple Cold Blasts Coming)

About Toilets...

 Someone asked how a toilet could overflow with no-one at home. If the toilet kept running\after being flushed, it is entirely possible and even likely to overflow and flood a residence. Had I not been home to put out buckets and empty five buckets of water coming through the fan in the batheoom ceiling, my entire apartment could have ended up water damaged. Years ago. I had water damage from the same unit long before the current resident moved in.

All I can do is hope the current lady gets her toilet fixed. As for the fan. it dates from 1974 when the building was constructed and had quit working just last month, so I will get that replaced at some point.

Turning off the water did nothing to lessen the pace or extent of the water coming through the ceiling fan which was how the contractor knew it was not due to a burst pipe but to the toilet in the above apartment.

NADM

 It has been cloudy and dreary here. The wee girl and I had a surprise when water was heard dripping loudly in our apartment. I looked outside and when it wasn't raining. I checked the hot water heater and then the bathroom only to discover water pouring through the fan vent in the ceiling. As luck would have it, my above stairs neighbor was not at home and despite four calls to my condo management emergency number. no one appeared to assess the situation. I then called a general contractor of my acquaintance who showed up. had difficulty turning the water off for the building outside. gathered some extra buckets from a neighbor and said that there was nothing else to do until the neighbor directly above came home. She showed up on the heels of his departure and eventually knocked on my door apologizing for the mess and explaining that her toilet had overflowed while she was gone. She was nice enough to clean up my bathroom and return the borrowed buckets to the lady next door.

I had emptied five buckets of water and mopped but until the leak fully stopped the water kept coming. so my efforts were futile. All is quiet now and having closed the bathroom and left the front door ajar for some fresh air while Mercy naps in her stroller, I can enjoy a bite to eat and some peace. I'll be replacing the bathroom fan soon.

Cheers!

[ping *******************************************************--+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The sun is out and we are okay

 I have not been outside yet but we are fine and the sun us shining! I hope all is well wherever each of you live today. There was tornado damage reported here.

Tornadoes Possible, Water. Wind and Rain Coming

The little girl and I are hunkered down and listening to the rising winds. We are under tornado watch as this system moves through.  This storm has done damage in other parts of the state. I will check in as I am able.

Finally Hung and Mercy Today...

 For those who wondered about the pet portraits I had done. all are now hung. Mercy will eventually join them. Today. she has been playing and napping and has finally located a sunny spot from whih to view squirrells and anoles. The bills have been paid, cooking and washing up done. Time for a roll around the neighborhood while the sun is out.

Cheers!

Happy 2024

  My tradition for many years has been Hoppin' John, greens and tomatoes as a first meal on New Years Day. This is a southern tradition from the Carolinas. I was taught that the peas, which are actually a legume or bean, symbolize coins, the greens, dollars and the tomatoes, health.This year I added a chopped salad and some watermelon for dessert.

Paying homage to humble yet filling foods if one is lucky to be alive and well in these crazy  times is fortune in itself. 

Cheers, happy 2024 and be well.