AuburnChick's Adventures

I could have sworn it had been summer for a few months now!  I guess that’s what I get for living in Florida, eh?  Well, Joyce is kicking off the “official” start of summer with a summery set of questions.  Play along if you dare!

1.  Summer officially rolls in with the Hodgepodge this week, for those of us in the Northern hemisphere anyway. What song says summer 2012 to you?

Any song by the Beach Boys speaks of summer to me.  That’s why it’s depressing to listen to them in…say…January or so.   heehee

2.  What’s your favorite quintessential summer food?

I’m a creature of habit, not prone to seasonal eating, so honestly, I don’t really know how to answer this question!  I guess, if I had to pick something, I’d say watermelon.  Is this a summertime fruit?  A gardener I am not.  😉

3.  I’ve spent a lot of time traipsing up and down the NJ Turnpike in recent weeks. Did you know the rest areas on the turnpike are named after people who lived or worked in NJ? Clara Barton, Walt Whitman, James Fenimore Cooper, Molly Pitcher, Joyce Kilmer, Thomas Edison, and Gover Clevland just to name a few. Of those I listed, who would you most like to have known and why?

I would have loved to have known Thomas Edison.  The story of how many failures he had before creating a filament for the incandescent light bulb that actually worked…WOW!!  Anyone who has that much fortitude is certain worth knowing better, eh?

4.  At what age did you move out of your parent’s house and what prompted the move?

I moved out when I was nineteen years old.  The reason?  Because I was getting married.  I wish I’d left sooner.  I wasn’t allowed to attend college away from home…an experience I feel like I really missed out on.  But God had other plans for my life, and I don’t think I’d be where I am today had I done things differently way back when.

5.  What’s more satisfying to you-saving time or saving money?

I think that saving money is most satisfying because it’s so practical and a lot more attainable goal.  I don’t know if people legitimately save time.  Sure, you can take a shortcut now and then, but at what cost?  Sometimes it’s good to take time and smell the roses…enjoy the process.

6.  Name something you think brings out the good in people.

I think that adversity brings out the good in people.  I live in Florida, which frequently has to deal with hurricanes.  Watching as neighbors help each other out to prepare for these storms as well as with cleanup afterward will restore your faith in humanity.

7.  This last question comes to you courtesy of Kathy over at Reflections...will you be taking a vacation or a staycation this summer? If so where will you go? If a staycation is on the calendar have you made any special plans to fill the time?

I will not be taking either.  Last year at this time, I was finishing up my educator preparatory classes and preparing to go on an Alaskan cruise.  This year, I’m taking a reading class, participating in several in-service trainings, and thinking about my lesson plans for the next school year.  With my youngest starting college in August and the oldest in her third year, along with paying back my own student loans and other bills, there’s not much time, energy, or money for any kind of vacation.

Truth be told, I really enjoy being home anyhow.  I so rarely have time to clean the house or just veg out.  I’m enjoying myself immensely!

8.  My Random Thought

Yesterday I had dental surgery to graft gum tissue to the receding gum line in front of one of my bottom teeth.

I had a consultation appointment last week, liked the doctor’s gentle ways, and was confident the surgery wouldn’t be a big deal.

Then came the surgery.

I’d forgotten how much I loathe needles…especially those that are inserted into my mouth.

Ugh.

Somewhere along the line, my brain had a blip of memory loss, and I’d sort of forgotten a detail about the surgery…

That the periodontist would be using tissue from my upper palate as the “plug” to fill in the gap in front of my bottom tooth.

I quickly remembered, though, when I tasted salt in my mouth…the point at which he was cutting.

Yuck.

My other clue was when I turned around to see what he was doing after he took a “break” from stitching up my palate.

He was shaping the piece of gum he’d just removed.

Nice.

And gross.

Here’s what my gum looked like before he began…

Please forgive my ugly fingernail.  I’m giving my nail beds a rest this summer and will get my nails fixed before I go out of town for one of my trainings in July.

See the bottom tooth with the big space between the bone and the gum?  That’s what needed fixing.

The next picture is what my gum looks like with the bandage on it.  I say the term loosely because it’s more like bubble gum that will harden and stay in place for the next few days.  The consistency actually reminded me of the pasty stuff they use when they make orthodontic molds (I’ll never forget the feeling of that stuff as it tried to ooze down my throat when I was a youngster…nasty stuff and bad memory to this day)…

I went by my local health food store on the way home and purchased Vitamin C, which will speed up the healing process.  The owner of the store told me that a person can actually reverse a receding gum by taking a combination of a green health powder and CoEnzyme Q10 (love this stuff, by the way…so good for Fibromyalgia!!).  Sounds nasty.  I’ll tuck this away for later, though, should I need it.

Filed under: This-n-That | Tagged: Wednesday Hodgepodge | 8 Comments »

It’s time for the Hodgepodge!  I know of no better way to mark the middle of the week than with Joyce’s meme!  Thanks, Joyce!

1.  In what way are you your own worst enemy?

In my desire for perfection, I often over-think things, causing myself much angst in the process.  Oy!

2.  Jacques Cousteau’s birthday was Monday, June 11th…ever been scuba diving? Is that something you’d like to try? What’s your favorite ‘under the sea’ creature?

I’ve never been scuba diving and I really do not have a desire to do so.  I’ve been snorkeling a time or two and enjoyed that.  With that said, I find underwater creatures to be very imaginative expressions of God’s creativity.  I’m not sure I have a favorite…maybe whales?  They’re huge animals yet intriguing.

3.  On a scale of 1-10, how comfortable are you in and around the water? (1=not at all, 10=very) Do you know how to swim and if so how and when did you learn?

I’m very comfortable around water.  I’d rate myself a 10.  I don’t remember not being able to swim.  I took formal lessons when I was a teenager, but that was where I learned how to do strokes properly.  I’d been keeping myself afloat for years before those lessons.

4.  What’s something you do to motivate yourself to tick an item off your to-do list?

Hmmm…tough question.  Sometimes, if I have a big assignment or pressing deadline, I’ll tell myself that I can play Bejeweled Blitz or watch a DVR’d show when I finish my task.

5.  What makes a good neighbor? Are you a good neighbor?

A good neighbor is one who is courteous…who doesn’t start up the lawn mower at o’dark’thirty on a Saturday morning…who doesn’t leave parked cars in front of other people’s houses for days, weeks, and months on end (this was done to me by a former neighbor)…who keeps the trash can put away after trash day…who keeps up the yard.

For the most part, I am a good neighbor.  My yard is of some concern, but my neighbors know that I have the ability, just not the time.  I am, however, working to rectify this and am getting estimates from landscaping companies.  Wish me luck.  The first company I called did not show yesterday.  The guy sounded a little sketchy when I’d called to set up the appointment.  Good riddance.  I’ll make sure I tell EVERYONE not to call this company in the future.

6.  Who loads the dishwasher at your house? Is there a right way and a wrong way?

We don’t use our dishwasher, except as a holding place for the overflow of just-washed dishes that won’t fit in the drainer.  Several years ago, I read a study about how bad it is for people who have weak immune systems to eat from dishes and cutlery that have been put through the dishwasher.  The Mr. suffers from Crohn’s Disease, and I went through a spell where I had a hard time getting rid of a nasty cough, so I decided at that point to stop using the dishwasher.

Whoever washes the dishes loads them in the dishwasher if need be.  Lately, that someone has been me, although very rarely since I pretty much quit cooking.

7.  You know it’s summer when_________________________.

You know it’s summer when you see me wearing a pair of shorts.  I am such a cold-natured person that I usually wear blue jeans.  Hence, it’s definitely summer if I bare my legs by wearing shorts.

8.  My Random Thought

I don’t know if you remember when I fixed my bathroom faucet a couple of weeks ago.  I blogged about it here.

Though I fancy myself the female equivalent of Tim the Toolman, I ran into a bit of a problem afterward.

Oh, and for the record, perhaps I am more like Tim than I originally thought.

😀

So here’s what happened.

A few days after the fix, the Mr. told me that he thought his sink was leaking underneath.

Great.

It was…

Badly.

I pulled everything out and took a look.

I still wasn’t sure what was going on, so I took apart the cold water handle, reseated the new washer I’d recently put in, and put everything back together.

Still, the water dripped underneath.

After trying this and that, I figured out that the leak was coming from the center part of the faucet.

The bad thing was that I had no idea how to take it apart.

I didn’t know what to do, so I put everything aside, left a bucket under the counter, and ruminated.

Finally exasperated that the Mr. was using my sink all the time, I called a plumber.

After taking apart the faucet, he said that a small part was broken.

We decided that I had probably broken it when I’d grabbed onto the center spigot, using it as leverage when tightening the hardware on the cold water handle.

Oops.

I wrote my $186 check, paying him for his time, and he promised to call me when he found a matching replacement.

Well, I got that call yesterday morning at 8am.

He’d found the faucet…

In Virginia.

Because the style is over nine years old, the price wasn’t going to be cheap.

Are you ready for this?

$500.

For this…

I kid you not.

Oh, but the plumber’s supervisor was willing to apply the money I’d paid the day before toward this cost without charging me more to install it.

So, for about $366, I could have a new faucet.

I decided to call the Mr. first.

He was aghast and said that he’d never be able to use the sink without being angry.

Me either.

We decided to shop for new faucets at a local hardware store and try to install them ourselves.

Then, the weirdest thing happened.

While on the phone with my friend, Christina, who I speak with almost every day, I told her this story and walked into the bathroom, casually testing out the spigot as I told her the story.

Hmmm…it wasn’t moving back and forth like it had done before the plumber came.

I guess he’d tightened up loose screws.

For fun, I ran the water.

THE SINK DIDN’T LEAK!

Oh my gosh!

I ran the water for a minute or two.

STILL NO LEAK!

The stopper, though wouldn’t go up when I pulled on the bar, so I got underneath the sink, taking something apart, rethreading the stopper, and putting everything back together.

Yes, I’m good like that.

We’ve been testing out the sink ever since, and THERE’S STILL NO LEAK!!

Praise the Lord!

We’re holding our breaths but hopeful that we won’t have to shell out any more money to fix this sink.

Filed under: This-n-That | Tagged: Wednesday Hodgepodge | 8 Comments »