Oh really??

My dad's computer crashed again, so he has Brother Deere take it to their computer geek. Dad gets impatient waiting for it to be returned so he orders a new computer!! Geek friend not only transfers the data from the old computer to the new, but he totally restores the old computer, too.

Dad offers me the old desktop, knowing I'm only using a laptop right now. I told him I'd love to have it and would then be able to give the laptop a much needed rest.

I'm telling Single Son all this (with DIL close by) and of course she pipes up "Good, we're buying Grandson a desktop for Christmas but I need a new computer. My laptop is toast. I just need the tower, I have the monitor and keyboard. When can you pick it up for me?"

Hello?

I guess DIL has this overwhelming sense of entitlement ... and it's pissing me off!!

You live here freaking free ... I sure don't count the toilet paper (or dish soap, laundry soap, paper towels and garbage bags) that I MAKE you "donate" for living here (since you consume the most of these products anyway, it's ONLY FAIR to buy what you use) ... and you think YOU are entitled to jack squat.

Did I ask if YOU wanted it? No ...
Do YOU work? Yes ...
Can you save part of YOUR paycheck to buy a computer? Probably ... if you didn't piddle your money away on useless crap you don't NEED.

I'm on my way shortly to the folks house to run some errands and do some chores for Mom. Dad really wants the old computer out of his condo, but I'm going to ask him to store it for me for a while longer. At least until after Married Son is home and I get to talk to him about this crap.

What, oh what, will I blog about when DIL is history?

I know ... my new sense of freedom ... my new job ... my life being so dull without the DIL complication.

I can't wait!!

What a dork!!

I can't believe that both Single Son and I totally forgot about yesterday's Star Trek junkies meeting!! Luckily my friend Chicken had called both Son and I to find out what time the meeting started. Had he not called, it'd have been a catastrophe! And after all that Chicken didn't even get to the meeting  - something about he thought he was having a stroke - I'd be concerned, except for the fact he's a major hypochondriac!

And I'd have missed the meeting where my peers cast their votes for their new XO (Executive officer) had Chicken not called so many times yesterday.

We have to send the ballots to our ballot-counter up in Canada, so we won't know the election results for about a week.

But from the general gist of the mostly hushed conversations around me, I'm pretty sure I won. Besides, my opponent lives in the state of Wyoming. How can he really do his job from such a distance away??

And believe me, there's a lot to this position, most of which I've been doing for over a year now in the absence of the gal who is supposed to be our XO.

So, just think, if I win the election, you'll get to hear all about the events I'll have to plan ... and probably a lot more venting about all things Trek, too.

LOL ...

Lucky you!!

When MIL ain't happy ...

ain't nooooooobody happy!!

I used to have a t-shirt that said just that ... with one very pissed off bunny on it. Oh where is it when I need it?

So what exactly started the tirade I'm about to relate to you?

I went to get something out of *my crisper drawer* in the fridge (yes, I keep stuff in there, stuff she knows NOT to touch - mayo, lunch meats, ,whatever) and the damned thing was STUCK shut. On further investigation, someone had spilled a sticky liquid (probably one of many drink boxes) all over the fridge and LEFT IT for someone else to clean up.

After an hour of cleaning, tossing out, and organizing the fridge has been reclaimed. Gone are her two dozen eggs with the sell-by date on the cartons of May 2011 and December 2010! Gone are six bread heels that got shoved to the back - behind her large inventory of drink boxes - and left to mold. Gone are three opened and GREEN packages of bologna left in their crisper drawer. Nasty shit, nasty. I've never seen so much waste in my life as what DIL creates. Sad ... so sad.

I'm sure she'll be furious once she discovers that I cleaned out her crap, too. Oh freaking well. My fridge, she's lucky she gets as much space as she does for six cases of drink boxes (two cases were actually empty and sitting in the fridge still) ... dozens of fruit cups and snack packs of puddings that I have collected and put in her drawer ... it was in my way, dammit. Now it's not!

Then I decided that since I was there, I'd tackle organizing the freezer, too. I don't have a shelf in the freezer, so stuff gets piled up and fast. I adapted a shelf from an old wire rack I had saved for some reason from my old freezer. Organized "hers" and "mine" - of course being the bitch I am, I gave her the smallest area (the ice bucket and trays take up a third of the space) and made a sign saying "Mom's food" and "DILs food" with another sign saying "any food placed in MY section I WILL EAT". I'm tired of her thinking she is going to move our (Single Sons and mine) stuff if it's in her way. It's my house ... my stuff ... your shit is in my way, then watch out. I'm FED UP!

And as long as I'm bitching ... what is it that she moved a large pot from the drying rack (in her way obviously) and put it on the counter - the cupboard for the pots is directly under where the pot sat on the counter. She's been half-assed putting dishes away ... cups in the dish cupboard, dishes on the counter, pans on the stove, strainer in the oven (plastic strainer - luckily I checked the oven BEFORE I turned it on or the house would have stunk to high heaven with the melting plastic) ... I could go on and on.

There's more left to do in the kitchen - like reclaiming my cupboards and counter tops (she can keep the largest pantry ONLY because it stores Grandsons food) ... and just too freaking bad if she's unhappy!

*****

Deciding I had earned a shower as my reward, I set my way to the bathroom. It's a nice chilly day outside, and a hot shower seems in order after my time in the kitchen.

What's this? HER laundry piled up, covering the heat vent? Hello? I grab it all, throw it on her bed ... oh, oops, there's clean clothes there, too! mybad ... I hope she figures out the clean from dirty ... if not, not my problem if she goes around smelling like stinky socks!!

Finally, I'm in the shower. I actually sit down in the tub and just let the shower water take my stress away. Well, for a few minutes anyway. DIL came home as I'm showering, so I didn't hear her come in. I lost most of the water pressure in the shower and could hear the washing machine below the bathroom fill with water. I'm pissed. Not even turning the shower water off, still wet I put on my robe, storm downstairs to the laundry room where I practically scream at her "Did you NOT hear the shower running?" "Yeah" ... "And you can't wait until the shower is off to start your damned laundry? How inconsiderate!!"  as I turn the washing machine off. "What are you doing? You're out of the shower I can do my laundry now" ... "NO YOU CAN'T ... I am not done with my shower" ... and I went back to my shower.

She's since stormed off. Don't know where she is. Don't care. She's probably called Married Son by now, complaining about what a bitch I'm being. He's already told me next time she does call him, he's going to tell her "you probably deserve it". He's fed up, too. And he can't stand his peace on the road being interupted by the selfish, inconsiderate, childish "it's not my job" brat he married.

And when she gets back I'm going to finish this argument with a review of the rules of the house. Starting with not abandoning her laundry for Single Son to finish, leaving utensils in the sink (she'll wash only the dishes, leaves utensils, cups and pots for me), not tossing MY stuff around if it's in her way and many many more bitches I have that have yet to be resolved after weeks and weeks of being the Mother In Law from Hell.

If it kills HER I will have total control of this house by the end of the month.

And I have begun to end every argument with "My house, not yours. My rules, not yours. Don't like it? You know where the door is. Feel free to use it".

I'm Still Here ...

Bet ya'll were thinking I'd fallen off the face of the earth? Or been catapulted into space?

Been busy ... let's see ... Single Son's van is finally back on the road! I should be happy right? Well, I am. Sort of. It's back on the road only because my car died (head gasket) and it was the cheapest of the two to fix. The car will be fixed, as soon as we can come up with the two grand needed to rebuild the engine. So, it's still only one vehicle around here for the two of us. Grrrrrr.

*****

Married Son's been home a couple of times recently, and will be home again in less than a week for the Thanksgiving holiday. He's grateful to be out on the road, seems DIL is getting on his final nerve. Suddenly he's sympathetic to what WE go through here in his absence. He's talking about divorce again, but will wait until spring after he's able to reach certain goals with his company (like hiring drivers) and can be home to operate the business full time so he can fight for custody of Grandson. I'll still work for him doing local deliveries. Added bonus for me: a company vehicle. At least I'll have something to drive back and forth to work (if repairs to my car aren't made by spring), lol.

*****

Same ol' garbage with DIL, too. Laundry, dishes, clutter ... nothing changes. We've had many more altercations since I've stopped bottling things up inside. Why should I be the one to suffer? It's my house dammit. And I'm reminding her of this a few times a day anymore.

To the point I told her if she doesn't like it, she knows where the door is. Use it.

Please!

*****

Let's see ... oh ... Star Trek stuff ... Laurie, you can skip to the next topic if you want ... but it'll be a fun read you miss, lol.

K ... is she gone? LOL.

Our "away mission" to Escanaba was ... oh, interesting to say the least. We had fun, that's for sure, but I don't think I'll soon forget the drive up to Escanaba - or back, or the fact we made the trip there AND back in under 24 hours.

K, so exactly WHERE is Escanaba anyway? Well, let's get out our trusty map ... here ya go ... see it up there in the Upper Peninsula, on the lower end of the pinky finger? I'm located between Detroit and Flint in the Lower Peninsula, about half way. Just about a four hundred mile drive (eight hours for you "clock drivers").

Don't you love our map? Every Michigander has at one point used the palm of their right hand to point to where they live!! Really.

Because of the vehicle situation (the van had only been repaired the week before) we felt it best that our companion, RD, drive. His vehicle uses a lot less gas than the van does, besides, the van hasn't been on such a long trek in years and hadn't yet been proven to be once again worthy of the long drive.

Can we say ... big mistake? Very big mistake. There were reports of snow "up north" and RD being a native Texan (who hates/fears snow) ... well, can you see the recipe for disaster?

On the above map, refer to the place just below the middle finger of the lower hand, I mean peninsula ...

Yup, that would be his HHR stuck in the middle of the median. RD was changing lanes, hit a pile of slush. The rest as they say is history. Luckily both Single Son and I had both dozed off so we didn't have time to tense up and risk possible injury. Son was awakened by RD saying a few choice cuss words as we went into the slide ... I didn't wake up until we were actually IN the ditch, going sideways ... as trees could be seen out of the front windshield. Luckily no one was seriously injured. And it's a miracle the vehicle didn't roll! The vehicle didn't even suffer so much as a scratch. The only "pain" felt was RDs wallet for the hundred dollar tow out of there (although my knee slammed hard into the back of Son's seat, and still hurts days later). And it cost an hour sitting there as drivers on I-75 "rubber necked" to see the fools in the ditch!

I had Trek jokes like you wouldn't believe while we were stuck there ... including "To boldly go where no one has gone before" and once the tow truck showed up "Beam us up Scotty".

Once we were about thirty miles further north, there was no snow, and the sun was out. Relief for the passengers at least!!

We finally arrived in Escanaba at about 2 pm (over an hour later than we should have). Our visit with our Trekkie friends was great. Totally uneventful. They were presented with their Commissioning certificate, making all their hard work finally official. Dinner was good, too, and much welcomed after our eventful drive up.

We didn't stay too long and where back on the road before 7 PM.

I make a lousy passenger, I doze off a lot. But I was already tired as we'd left home at 4:30 that morning anyway. May I say here that the HHR is one of the most uncomfortable vehicles for cat naps!! Of course, having a driver that unintentionally swerves in and out of the lane doesn't help a bit. But dammit, I was exhausted. One such cat nap on the way back home (less than two hours from home at that), I am awakened by a loud THUD. "What the hell was that" I asked RD. "Not a dead body I hope". "Wasn't dead before you hit it anyway. Damn, I'm not closing my eyes any more". And I didn't!! Never did figure out what he ran over. either.

We pulled into RDs driveway at 4 am, and were home by 5 am (after a stop for breakfast). A full 24 hours on the road, with only a few cat naps along the way (and lots of stress).

After we'd picked up the van, the first thing out of Single Son's mouth was "and you have the nerve to say I'm a bad driver?" No, he's just fast. But at least he keeps the vehicle ON the road.

Next time Single Son drives. Or I'm not going!!

*****

Oops, I lied! No more topics!!

Hope ya'll are doing well. I'm still keeping up with your blog entries through email. I really need to work on being a better blog buddy!!

What's that I hear??

Absolutely NOTHING!! It's quiet here. Peacefully quiet. And I'm loving it!!

Why is it so quiet around here, you ask? Because the Wrecking Crew is gone ... for only a week. A teaser really of what things could be like if they were forever gone. But a week is a week. And I'm going to enjoy it!

So, where did they go? To Exie Poo's house to house sit for a week while he and wifey number three are out of state. Bless them for actually trusting DIL and Grandson with their home (and their car, which DIL happened to talk them into using in their absence). I just hope it's in the condition they left it in when they return. We know how lazy DIL is ... but of course, I'm sure Exie Poo is paying her, too - which means she's probably doing dishes, cleaning the stove top and taking out her own garbage (and NO I am not going to pay her for shit she should be doing here because I'm providing a roof over their freaking heads).

*****

So I was talking to Single Son the other day. He was going nuts over the stuff DIL ignores around here, warning me that he's probably going to go ballistic on her very soon. He's past fed up. I told him to go for it ... she won't listen to me ... let's see if his fits help. I mentioned something about how I couldn't wait for them to move, and Single Son says "Married Son says the same thing, Mom". Wait? As in getting their own place ... or filing for divorce. Yup, the second one. Only ... who knows when that'll be. I've heard that talk for the last six years!!

*****

Alien has been working for Married Son's trucking company as his secretary. She wasn't able to do a lot of the work since she had no computer at home to work on. Son fixed that last week by buying a netbook for her to use. It's company property, but she can set it up to use for her personal stuff, too. She received the computer on her birthday. Not a week later, she claims she only turned her back for a minute when Butterball totally destroyed the new netbook. Screen broken, keys popped off (and some still missing). She called Married Son (who is on the road) to tell him (and send a pic of the damaged machine). Needless to say, he's NOT replacing it. He will have Single Son (his chief of operations) repair it. She will be docked the repair costs. And yes, she was too scared to contact Single Son first (the one she should have reported it to in the first place) ... he's got a way of reducing her to tears by just looking at her! One more screw up like that, and she's out of a job, too.

*****

So, I've been doing more research on tiny homes. Problem ... in most counties here in Michigan they have strict building codes, nothing less than 1.000 square feet can be built on a property. Most areas don't permit a "recreational vehicle" to be lived in permanently on property either (tiny houses like that in the last blog are considered RVs). At least in all the areas I'd consider moving to. Grrrrrrr.

It's still a long term dream, but geesh ... it may take me ages to find a place I'd want to move that would allow small or tiny homes! And I get the feeling it may be out of Michigan! I'm not prepared to leave Michigan yet (if ever, I LOVE my home state).

I'll keep planning, and designing my "dream home", my tiny dream home ... hoping that one day it'll happen. Half the fun is in the planning and design, riiiight?

*****
STAR TREK STUFF
(consider yourselves warned)

We're headed back to Escanaba for another "away mission" in November. This will be for the official Commissioning into Star Fleet. I thought that was the reason for our first trip there, only to find out it was to attend a meeting and get to know the Crew of the USS Ludington. We've all grown close in this short time, I can't wait to get back up there for the Commissioning! These guys are fun! Their enthusiasm is contagious. Their Commander, Arie, reminds me of Single Son when he was that age (20).

In other Star Trek news, LOL ... I'm running for the XO (Assistant Commander) of our ship (chapter). I'm up against one other member ... and I'm feeling pretty confident I'll get elected to the position. He's out of state, so he's unable to personally attend our meetings, plus there's a few other issues (he rubs a lot of people the wrong way) ... but I'm trying not to be overly confident ... don't wanna jinx anything, ya know? We vote next month for new officers. Single Son is so busy with the work he does with Star Fleet (he's third in command of StarFleet, International Fan Association) that after ten years he's stepping down as commander of our ship. Only one candidate for that position. But it's been a heated campaign for the position of XO.

*****

Oh, and I forgot to tell ya ... Barky Dog and family have moved out!! Yes!! They're gone. For Sale sign up in their front yard. But not one single serious looker yet. Could that be the six or so trees that are growing but inches from their foundation? I see problems with that in the future. I told them about it, but apparently they're not taking my observation seriously. But as a potential buyer, that'd be the last place I'd make an offer on ... serious root damage to that foundation if those trees aren't taken care of NOW!! And what other hidden issues could be there since they're not even addressing the obvious issues! Ah well, not my problem!! But I have to wonder how good of a real estate agent they have if she isn't seeing those trees as a problem that needs to be addressed BEFORE the house can be sold. I know who I'll never have list my home (if I ever own one, LOL).

Anyway ... it's been three fantastic weeks of not hearing that damned dog bark until 4 am and then again at 7 am!! Even the squirrels seem to be happy about it - judging the fact there's much more squirrely activity going on in the back yard lately. I swear they're even singing now!!

And no, I haven't lost my mind.

Not yet anyway.

Howdy Stranger!

No, I haven't fallen off the face of the earth. More like I've holed up in my cave and just don't come out.

My cousin's funeral hit me harder than I thought it would. As adults we weren't really that close, but as kids I have to say she was one of my favorite cousins. I think a lot of it has been that can of emotional worms once again opening those feelings of when my brother took his own life.

Single Son canceled his trip to Texas and the commissioning of a new "ship" (chapter) in StarFleet to attend DMcB's funeral. I'm glad he was there, as I really needed the emotional support. My folks - as well as most of my relatives were there, but they were at the opposite side of the church - we got there literally five minutes before the service, there was no room left for us anywhere near my folks.

The funeral was interesting to say the least. There wasn't a dry eye in the church when her daughter, TMac, spoke a very touching tribute to her mother. However, we all could have done without the Preacher trying to save the souls of everyone there (half hour lecture about his church being the only right path, and the benefits of joining HIS church, too). Then again, we should have expected it, he'd done the same thing when DMcB's father died. He could have done without the references that suicides don't go to heaven, too. NOT the place to preach that, even if it IS his personal beliefs ... with such a diverse collection of religions (and non-believers) in attendance. Actually, he never said "suicide" ... he kept saying "under the circumstances" or "the situation".

*****

In other news ...

I finally got the check for babysitting JJ from back in June. Yes ... four months for the check to come. And the last month was spend calling the financial department at least every week to tell them the check had not yet arrived. Granted, it's only for $120, but when you're not working, that's a hell of a lot of money. LOL.

I'll spend the first fifty getting my chauffeurs license. That's the first step I need to getting a job doing local deliveries for Married Son. And worse comes to worse, it's another asset to add to my resume for a different job.

Other than lunch with my college buds, I'm not sure what the rest of the money will go to. I was thinking my prescriptions and some food, LOL, but when Mom asked what I'd spend it on, she thought other than lunch, I should spend it on frivolous stuff.

Wait!! It's been so long since I've had money to just spend, I don't think I can!! I can't even think of anything I want bad enough to squander the money on. Isn't that pathetic? Or is it? LOL ... I can't decide. Besides, the few things I do want are on my "wish list" for Christmas, that if I were to buy them what would my family give me as gifts?

*****

I've also been spending some of my time doing a lot of research on homes. I'm pretty sure when I move from this place within the next few years, I'm downsizing. Ya, part of it will be to remove that possibility of any of my off-spring residing with me (yes, even Single Son! I know, call CNN, right??). It'll probably be in a small apartment for the time being, but my ultimate dream has now become to build a small place for myself on a small lot somewhere fairly rural.

Small homes. Tiny homes to be exact. I'm loving these floor plans that I'm finding online, between 100 and 300 square feet. Yes, tiny!! But I'm at that point in life that I'm finding the majority of my possessions are overwhelming, just too much crap. No, I'm not going minimalist, not exactly. I just need to weed out a good percentage of my crap. And what better way to force yourself to get rid of it than by living in a tiny home?

Oh yeah, the model I'm looking at is built on a trailer, so it's fully mobile. Of course, I've copied the original blueprints into my architecture program and have made some modifications to best suit my needs. You'll see in the following pictures that the mattress is in a sleeping loft. Personally, I can't see myself climbing a ladder every night to go to bed, so I've redesigned the kitchen to allow for a door at the rear to a "first floor" tiny bedroom, big enough for a queen mattress on a platform (hydraulic lifts to allow access to under bed storage). However, it adds six feet to the overall length of the tiny home, making it a little more difficult should I ever wish to move it. ::sigh::

I also like the idea of 1) being able to tow your house anywhere you want (allowing for a change of scenery if you need it) and 2) with some preparation and forethought you can live totally off-grid (self sustaining, meaning NO utility bills!)

I'm finding there's a whole "underground" movement of tiny house enthusiasts here in Michigan alone.

So ... that's what's up with me. What's up with you??

Tiny House

This is known as the Fencl Tiny House, built by Tumbleweed Tiny House Company. At only 130 sq. ft, this is my dream house. Built on a trailer and totally portable. Isn't it sweet??? http://www.tumbleweedhouses.com/houses/fencl/