He Said- She Said.......

Sorry about the delay, folks!! I forgot I had volunteered to work an extra day this week.

As promised- here is the -albeit late- post.



Paulius and I so often post about the same things that I have tried on numerous occasions to talk him into co-writing a separate blog with me in a He said-She said type format. We have very different tastes in lots of things like movies, reading material, fashions, foods.......however, I think we are actually about as compatible as two people can be, mainly because we embrace and accept our differences rather than let them come between us.

Anyway, if you read his Blog, listed in my links, you will see what I mean...........

Thanksgiving week was an experience to remember- one that will go down in the archives of our marital history as a milestone week.

First of all- I had worked all week on night shift and then had been coming home and running on about four or five hours sleep a day.
Sunday night I went to work and came home as usual-I had been sick with a horrible virus all weekend so was still feeling a bit weak from it and didn't much feel up to exerting myself too much.

So I arranged my schedule for the rest of the week around getting rest that day. It was going to be dead simple.
Monday-Usual routine- then relax.
Tuesday-Cash Check-buy dinner supplies-relax.
Wednesday-Blitz-clean the house-10 minutes for the bathroom, 5 minutes for the hallways, 30 minutes for the living room, and an hour and a half for the kitchen because I planned on doing everything from wiping the fridge to mopping to cleaning the oven.
Wednesday evening-Bake everything except the turkey and ham and the dressing which would be done on Thursday morning when I came home from work. Thursday- Set up the buffet while the turkey and ham are baking and then have dinner at noon. Eat, visit with my darling children and my gorgeous husband for a couple three hours. Then after everyone leaves for their other dinners, nap until time to go to work at midnight.


I went to work Monday night- same routine....came in, slept for a couple hours and then got up, checked the mail, went to the bank and cashed my check.
And then the FUN began.

We did the shopping for Thanksgiving Day Dinner AND for the week too. Around two hundred dollars and three stores later, We were almost sure we had everything we needed. (We didn't- we forgot the eggnog to begin with, not to mention cat litter and cat FOOD.-Translation- yet ANOTHER trip to the store later that evening)

We came home and unloaded and put everything away, then realized we had indeed forgot the aforementioned items and went BACK out to get them.

Decided to wait til the next day to wash my uniforms since I had one more to wear for work that night. HUGE MISTAKE.

Went to work- came home thoroughly exhausted and was sooooooooooooooooo looking forward to getting in my nice toasty warm soft bed and cuddling up to my sexy hubby and getting some much needed zzzzzzzzzs.

I undressed and crawled into the bed, scooched down, and was literally pulling the blanket up over my shoulder when the phone rang. I heard my son answer it in a fog as I began that sleep float and then suddenly, thru the foggy mist floats my sons voice outside our bedroom door...."Mom?..............Sorry but it's Nanny- she says she really needs to talk to you-RIGHT NOW- said it couldn't wait." He gave me a look of sympathy as he handed the phone to me.
I listened as my mom told me She had no water and for me to check and see if we did. So I grabbed my robe and trotted off like the good daughter I am(However I was thinking and half-muttering some really un-nice things under my breath the whole time- but we'll ignore that fact for now).....We did but the pressure seemed low and I told her. She said, "Well, SOMEBODY needs to go check the pipes under your house cause somebody has got a leak and it's not me- I've already looked."
This is the moment I decided to start voicing my displeasure.
LOUDLY & in NO-UNCERTAIN TERMS.
Mom voiced her displeasure right back with-
"Well I'm just sorry-Why don't you get Paulius or Frank up and have them go check the pipes?"

I refused to get them up because they stay up all night waiting on me to come home so we are all on the same schedule. They had gone to be an hour or so before I came in(I was running a bit late) and getting them up would be more trouble than it was worth so I told her that too- and then told her I would check the pipes myself and call her back in a couple minutes.
I re-dressed, went out, checked the pipes under the house(which were PERFECTLY FINE) and went back in and called her with that bit of news.
"Well, SOMEBODY needs to come check the lines from your house all the way to the road and find where that leak is."
At this point I'm really starting to detest that SOMEBODY person she keeps referring to- The bastard is really starting to piss me off.
"Fine"
I went out- took 20 minutes to walk the pipeline(I helped dig it- I know exactly where it is) and the after finding nothing, checked all her cut-off points and outside spigots. Of course the last one I checked was the one filled with water.

DAMMITT-DAMMITT-DAMMITT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It was the one at the corner of the house about a football field and a half from the road- exactly half-way between the road and my house.
I went in her house and told her the "good" news. I broke my wrist a while back and have little strength in my wrist, so I had to call my house and wake my son to come help me turn the water off at the meter at the main road. I knew a ringing phone would never wake Paulius up at that point.
So Frank got dressed, the came out and we got the tool and walked to the main and turned it off.
That meter was spinning so fast it put the old movies where the plane is going down and the altimeter is spinning to shame!!! We will be luck if we don't have a three hundred dollar water bill next month.

My mom had called my brothers to come fix it- but they were both at work and wouldn't be in until about 8 that evening. DAMMITT-DAMMITT-DAMMITT!!!!!!!

My son graciously offered to repair it. So I graciously offered Paulius' assistance and mine to help, since I realized I could do NONE of what I had to do to get everything ready for Thanksgiving dinner if I had no water.

So I trudge back down to the house, muttering and even making up some choice words to vent a bit. I walked into the house and tried to wake Paulius with the news of the water situation.
He was as thrilled as I was, but nothing could be done but to get up and get on with it. I have to give him credit- He came up with a suggestion that we just delay the dinner for the Friday, instead- but it wouldn't work because everyone had to work on Friday but was off Thanksgiving day.
(He's allowed to have a suggestion like that WITHOUT CRITICISM because he's a Brit and doesn't realize the implications of delaying Thanksgiving Day for a day.)
It would be like cancelling Christmas.

Anyway, to shorten this up a bit(If I don't it will turn into a post that would put Paulius' 2000 word posts to shame)
We made four trips to Lowes for plumbing supplies.
I had to keep my mom occupied most of that time because she likes to"help" and I use that word LOOSELY.
The guys were working in 30 degree weather, digging down 4 feet to reach the busted pipe which was encased in a brick and cement casing buried in red clay mud at the corner of the house and surrounded by a pyracantha bush with 3 inch thorns, a holly bush the size of a VW Beetle, and next to a nasty mound of fire-ants. And all this on the side of a hill with a 50degree incline working with a spade, a pick/mattock and a shovel.

Let me, at this point, say how much I admire these guys for even beginning this project- let alone spending all day on it. It was 9AM when I woke them- It was after 7PM when they finally finished and came in.
Read Paulius' account of the copperhead snake. That would have been MY personal quitting point- I detest snakes........EEWWWWW *shudder*
But they kept going til they were finished.
We came home and fell into a dead sleep for about two hours until I had to go back to work.

My brother came over after he got off work and tested the plumbing- it leaked a bit, so he had to leave the water off.
I got up, dressed, went to work and the officer I was relieving for shift told me there was a couple of gallon containers in the back storage room if I needed to gather some water for the next day. I thanked him- and found 6 back there. I filled them and took them home and had JUST enough to do my dinner and the bit of cleaning I had to do before my company got there. Meanwhile, my baby brother, Charlie, was working on the plumbing while I was having dinner with my family- His wasn't until later in the evening.

The water STILL leaked and he had to come back the day after T-giving to finish the job and it STILL has a tiny drip. But It's something that can be fixed with about two minutes time-in the DAYLIGHT!!!!

I went back to work again last night-even tho I REALLY, REALLY didn't want to after this weeks events.

I think it was one of life's little tests.
And I think we passed.

There's a lot of other little things that happened but to be perfectly honest- I am completely exhausted and I just can't bear the thought of doing anymore here today.

I'm going to sleep now for about 8 hours- at LEAST 6!
I have a HOT date tonight.

Paulius is taking me out to dinner and to see the new Harry Potter movie!!


I can't wait!!

G'Night all!!!