Bela has always wanted to sit in a fire truck. Now she can mark that off her bucket list. Saturday was her lucky day. It happened to be work day at the volunteer fire department’s training center, and we ended up at the fire hall.
Mission accomplished!
Our piano is at the small house, and Bela wanted to try playing a tune, so we went to the little house yesterday evening. It was starting to get dark, so pardon the pictures. I also wanted to take some pictures of the basement of the house, so we both got what we wanted.
I should be able to pull up the carpet myself.
I have plans for the downstairs area, but other things are higher on the priority list.
There are a few rooms in the basement.
If the window were bigger, this could be a “real” bedroom.
I want to do some renovations to my little house. Hopefully, I can get at least two projects done over the summer. I think I’d even be happy with just one completed project. I think the real problem is that I’m not quite sure where to start. So many things need to be done that I have trouble prioritizing!
The outside of the house isn’t too bad. The real work is on the inside!
I want to rip up the carpet and put down tile. I might have to put down new subflooring as well.
The carpet is already out of the hall.
I need to check the plumbing since the tub drains really slowly. I would also like to remove the tub and put in a shower stall instead.
The kitchen is having tile instead of carpet. I’m not sure how long it will take.
The cabinets are old, and I don’t know if they can be salvaged.
Usually my kids—furry and non—play at warp speed, but I caught a few of them at rest. That couch must be really comfy!
Children at rest…a beautiful thing.
Jinx was passed out….
The Mullen firefighters (and ambulance crew) take training seriously. After two nights of class room instruction (3.5 hours each night) at the fire hall, “driving day” finally arrived. I’ll admit to being a bit nervous. Most of the firemen have driven huge trucks for years, so I knew I couldn’t do any better than they would. I also knew I was going to hear about women drivers forever if I screwed up even a little. Nobody’s perfect, right?
Starting the course….
My time to drive was 9:40, but I showed up early and brought my camera (of course!). The state yard was full of cones. To run the full course, the driver had to leave the loading dock area, go forward between the small cones, reverse all the way to the beginning, swing a wide turn and enter the “gate” which consisted of two tall cones. After going forward to make a three-point turn, the driver would exit and enter the serpentine course. The driver then had to go all the way to the end of the cones, reverse through them before completing the serpentine pattern going forward. Reverse was the bane of my existence. A tight turn was in order to make the next gate; after that was the lane shift. For me, that was the easiest part. An easy loop was next. The turn led to the straight stretch and the stop. Stopping at a cone that is not visible can be really tricky. The driver was penalized for touching the cones in the course as well as for being too far away from the “stop” cone. I was so proud when Josh measured only two inches between the truck and the cone! The chief even gave me a thumbs up! 🙂 Josh actually had a tape measure for that purpose.
All of the drivers did a great job while having a good time!
Here’s the stretch and the “stop” cone.
This simulated the loading dock at the end of the course.
Driving a rig is hard enough, but when you can hear the guys laughing across the lot, it’s nearly impossible to focus!
Clean up was a snap.
The trainer’s rig had plenty of cones.
Ysabela nearly scared me to death yesterday. We were sitting across the desk from each other when she checked her phone, took a breath and screamed! I jumped like I’d been shot from a cannon. I thought she had seen a spider or something! It turned out that the text was to update her about Warped Tour. One of her (many) favorite bands—Pierce the Veil—had signed on to appear! She already has her ticket for Denver, so she is READY!
She’s a fan girl for sure!
If you were here right now, I would tell you: I love you. You were—and always will be—the love of my life. You were worth the wait. All that came before you was practice for our time together. I will always love you, and no other can fill your shoes. I’m so glad I told you all of this while you were still with me. You knew. Here’s our song, honey. Happy anniversary.
Jersey got a hair cut!
Lil Devil does NOT like playing Lion King!
Poppy McSassy Pants wanted to play.
I usually keep personal business out of my blog, but today is different. Today marks a month since my soul mate/life partner was murdered far away from me and Ysabela. The ugliness of what happened has haunted me, and I spent the day thinking about what (and who) I have lost. I know Ysabela lost someone dear to her, too.
At the end of every conversation with her daddy, I always promised him that I would take care of our girl no matter what. When she asked if we could go to the mall and a movie today after I finished work, I consulted my check book, inwardly groaned and said, “Sure! Let’s go!”
A promise is a promise, and my girl needed a day of fun whether I wanted to leave the house or not. It was nice to see Bela have a good shopping day (more about that later) and hear her belly laugh about the movie. I realized that no matter how tough things are, kids still need to have fun. It’s my job to make it happen.
An English translation of Yoani Sánchez's blog Generación Y, from Havana, Cuba
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