Reflective thoughts and poems

palides2021 said:
Well, the last few days were a little chaotic. I had several projects to take care of, but the most pressing project was getting rid of a dead animal underneath my sunroom. Remember the sunroom that I had built last year? It was joined to the rest of my deck. I have enjoyed that sunroom immensely, playing the violin there, entertaining friends and family, but things changed very quickly a few days ago. Let me tell you how it all happened. Let me tell you a story.

Easter time, in April, our semi-rural area experienced a fierce storm similar to a tornado, but it tore straight through our community instead of swirling around like a tornado does (I even wrote a poem about it and sent it to be published). I was not in the area at that time. I was visiting family for Easter.

When I returned days later, several trees were down in our neighborhood, including two pear trees in my back yard. The tree companies were overwhelmed. I heard one company had over 130 calls the day after the storm. Fast forward to last week. The tree people finally came to take my two trees away. I was sad to see the pear trees go. They had produced many juicy pears throughout the years that I gave to friends and family.

When the tree people came to take the pear trees away, they said they saw a fox near my deck. They even took a picture of it and showed it to me. Its back was facing the camera. All I could see was its orange color and pointy ears as it gazed into the crawl space of the deck. If it weren't for the ears, I would have thought it was a cat. Long blades of grass covered the rest of its body. The men said it had sores on its back.

A few days later (this was last Thursday), when I went into the sunroom, I smelled something different. Normally, it was a pleasure to be in there. I opened the windows to aerate it, but the smell persisted. I forgot about it. Friday, the smell was stronger. I went outside on my deck. It smelled something terribly bad, like a mixture of vomit, rotten eggs, and something else.

I walked around to see where the smell was coming from. At first, I thought it was under the deck because I saw the trellis under the deck had a hole in it. I assumed the sunroom had been partitioned off from the deck, because that was what I had been told they would do, but I was wrong. Any animal entering the crawl space of the deck had access to the crawl space of my sunroom.

Until I solved the problem, I kept the sunroom closed after that. I called over 10 phone numbers, trying to get information, and they kept passing me to someone else. I called the builder of the sunroom and told them the situation. They suggested a wildlife removal company. The wildlife company came and found nothing underneath the deck, but they definitely smelled it. They suggested it was under the sunroom, but they couldn't access the sunroom's bottom board. So I had the builder come and open up the sunroom crawl space. Now this is the scene that was very disgusting, and I hope you haven't eaten when you read this.

The night before, it had thundered and rained hard, and as we were walking around in the wet grass and passing the deck, the builder remarked calmly, "There are a lot of maggots out here." I hadn't seen them but when I zoomed in, they were all over the place, crawling everywhere, the size of tiny rice wiggling their way from the deck onto the cement path, unto the stairs, the grass, etc. I jumped away once I saw them. Yikes! I was sick to my stomach. It was like the worst nightmare.

Meanwhile, it was a sunny day, and the smell of death was more horrendous, encircling the whole back area. The builder removed the board and stepped away. He told me it was a fox and he could see the leg. I wondered if it was the same fox that had been hovering around the deck a week or so ago.

The wildlife company came several hours later. By now, the maggots were mostly gone. I think the birds had a feast day with them. The smell was less, because when they removed the board, it had aerated everything, but it was still potent. With a shovel, the wildlife people removed the remains of the fox, which was mostly bones by now, and placed it in a heavy-duty bag. I was told it was there at least four weeks, which made me think that it might have been injured in the Easter storm?

Meanwhile, the fox that the tree people had seen near the deck might have been another one, maybe the child fox looking under the deck for its mother? It did look small. That thought made me sad. The wildlife guy told me when an animal is ready to die, it goes into the strangest places to die. I found that interesting. He poured some liquid in the area to sanitize it, I believe. We will keep the area open for several days. The builder will return later in the week to close up the whole area under the deck and sunroom so we have no more surprises.

So now, as I write to you, I have claimed my sunroom back. The smell is literally gone, unless I go real close to where the fox lay. I can find time to relax and write you a story.

I ask you dear friends, should I be charged for closing off the deck area since they did not close off the sunroom? Curious what your thoughts are. Thank you for taking the time to read all the way down.
Click to expand...
How very sad! So sorry this happened.
As for being charged, is the agreement was to close it off and they did not, I'd say you shouldn't owe.
 

What a horrible thing to happen to you and your beautiful sunroom! That is a problem living with wild critters. I think the fox thought it was the perfect place to die with no other critters coming after him. The contractor company should not charge you for something you expected them to do when they built it. If it is written in your paperwork from them that would help.
 

katlupe said:
What a horrible thing to happen to you and your beautiful sunroom! That is a problem living with wild critters. I think the fox thought it was the perfect place to die with no other critters coming after him. The contractor company should not charge you for something you expected them to do when they built it. If it is written in your paperwork from them that would help.
Click to expand...
Thanks, @katlupe! I appreciate what you said. Although this is a semi-rural area, I live near a hospital, community college, and a thriving community. Seeing a fox was the last thing I expected! When the contractor came the other day and removed the board for the crawlspace, I told him that I thought there would be something closing off the sunroom from the rest of the deck. He said he remembered telling his people to do it. So I do have a verbal agreement. It's his supervisor and the boss of the company that I need to make sure are on the same page.
 
My son is visiting for a few days, which always brings me joy. He is very busy, juggling two part-time jobs (yes) and studying for his master's. During the summers, he volunteers as a counselor for teenage boys at a camp our archdiocese runs; it's an hour away. So he drove from Boston a few days early to visit me before going to the camp. He also does things around the house, which I am grateful. Yesterday, we caught up on our news, went out to eat, and watched a movie afterward. The movie was inside the mall, and after the movie, we walked around the mall enjoying some ice cream.

This morning, I have the HVAC people coming to service my HVAC and mini-splits. Afterward, I plan to go to the city park with my son and visit the Fine Arts museum there.

Wishing all of you a wonderful day!
 
Today, at the senior center, I played violin, as usual, with another musician who played the guitar. That is something I enjoy doing every week. Sometimes we have more people joining us, playing other instruments or singing, but today it was exceptionally hot and many people did not come. There were a few others joining us, mostly to play cards, listen, or read. Today, on a whim, we decided to record the song that we've been playing for a few months now. It's called "Spanish Violin." It's a violin and guitar duet. Mind you, this is not a professional recording, just a recording in a room at the senior center where others were present, so you might hear some sounds in the background.


PS Tomorrow marks the 12th year since my late husband passed away. May he rest in peace.
 
palides2021 said:
Today, at the senior center, I played violin, as usual, with another musician who played the guitar. That is something I enjoy doing every week. Sometimes we have more people joining us, playing other instruments or singing, but today it was exceptionally hot and many people did not come. There were a few others joining us, mostly to play cards, listen, or read. Today, on a whim, we decided to record the song that we've been playing for a few months now. It's called "Spanish Violin." It's a violin and guitar duet. Mind you, this is not a professional recording, just a recording in a room at the senior center where others were present, so you might hear some sounds in the background.


PS Tomorrow marks the 12th year since my late husband passed away. May he rest in peace.
Click to expand...
Very nice! I love violin and guitar. Here is a beautiful piece for guitar and violin. I used to do this piece with a violinist a few years ago. She moved away and I seldom play these days.

 
Deya said:
Very nice! I love violin and guitar. Here is a beautiful piece for guitar and violin. I used to do this piece with a violinist a few years ago. She moved away and I seldom play these days.

Click to expand...
Thank you for this, @Deya! They are very good! The person who plays the guitar in my video is almost 80. Good that you play guitar! I am wondering if you have a senior center nearby where you can explore playing with others. Just an idea.
 
palides2021 said:
Thank you for this, @Deya! They are very good! The person who plays the guitar in my video is almost 80. Good that you play guitar! I am wondering if you have a senior center nearby where you can explore playing with others. Just an idea.
Click to expand...
We do, but it hasn't been the same since covid. We and others used to do bluegrass there and at one senior home, but it seems the senior center was taken over by complainers that never have anything constructive to say. Right before covid, I did a classical recital and it didn't go well due to focal dystonia. I grew up playing with a violinist. I haven't played since surgery several months ago. No excuse, just didn't have the interest like I once did. We have several friends in their 80s that still play professionally, regularly.
 
Do you ever get those days where you want something sweet, but you're on a low carb diet? I did today. So I'm baking peanut butter cookies. They're low on carbs and filling. Instead of sugar, I use allulose. They'll be a good snack.
 
palides2021 said:
Do you ever get those days where you want something sweet, but you're on a low carb diet? I did today. So I'm baking peanut butter cookies. They're low on carbs and filling. Instead of sugar, I use allulose. They'll be a good snack.
Click to expand...
Oh I do, I do. Started recently on a low carb diet. Craving sweets! But resisting.......so far.
 
I discovered an old notebook (1994) where I had written several pages of poetry during a difficult time in my life. I had never published those poems, so I revised a few of them and sent them to a literary journal using the Submittable site.

Most of the journals want a short bio from us, so I had written one just for this occasion and added that in the submission. They also wanted all the poems in one file, so I uploaded it to the site and submitted. It will take several months to find out if they are accepted or not.

If you are interested in publishing your poems, visit Submittable and sign up, go in there and click on the Discover section to see what journals are listed and their deadlines to submit. It also tells you if you have to pay a fee or not for that particular journal. Sometimes it's a few dollars and can go up to 25 dollars. I avoid those. It's very convenient and a nice alternative to the old days when you had to mail in your poems. Also, I was able to browse the journals and see the poems that they had accepted. Also, several had contests and several paid you for your poems.

I have slowed down posting my poems here because several journals will not accept them for publication if they've already been posted online. I hope you've enjoyed what I've posted so far.

On another note-
Well, it's been several weeks since the fox died in the crawlspace underneath the sunroom. The board that had closed up that crawl space has been removed and sitting to the side, allowing that area to aerate. Today, I wore gloves, and went outside with several antibacterial/antiviral wipes and wiped that board clean. I've been meaning to do that, but had left the board outside hoping for the rain to clean it, but there were still stains. So now it's white.

I also took a few more wipes and wiped what I could under the crawlspace near the edge. The builder is coming in the evening to close up the crawlspace. I plan to add boards all the way around the deck so nothing else enters the crawlspace in the future. So far, it has cost me to bring in the wildlife guy and the service people to fumigate the space. I know it's going to cost to add those boards, but it will give me peace of mind.

I was thinking how much work it takes and the cost to maintain a house, from mowing the lawn, pruning the bushes, to getting rid of fallen trees from a storm. There could be a leak, a repair, a replacement, electrical issues, heating and a/c, etc. Why can't these things last forever so we don't have to always be digging in our pockets to repair and replace? Someone called it planned obsolescence....

But I did get up earlier today. That's been my recent goal these past few months, to get up one hour earlier. That means I go to sleep earlier. The Pure Life bottle of water I drink in the evenings, which has the minerals in it, seems to relax me and help me fall asleep quicker. Today, I plan to paint and play the violin, and maybe write another poem or two. The classes I teach begin in August (full-time) and I want to enjoy the rest of my vacation.
 
Having a keto meal replacement drink, that I make as ice cream takes care of all those sweet cravings for me. I think if you find a low carb replacement for whatever you are craving it should help. Though I think if it is baked goods or candy it is better if you make it yourself rather than buying a low carb/keto product in a store. So many of those are available now but if you read the ingredient label they are not really either. The meal replacement shake I use can used for in recipes of all kinds of baked goods and even fudge (main dishes as well). I only use it as ice cream myself because that is my addiction.
 
My goodness, so much rain has been dumped in this area the past few weeks! It's been exceedingly hot, too, so the rain cools things down. Today, after leaving the senior center, I splurged and went to Western Sizzlin. I didn't want to cook anything today. I was very proud of myself because I used the Garmin GPS system in my car and it took me there easily. I also used my senior citizen discount. I love their buffet salad and chicken.

However, when I was at the restaurant, my wifi didn't work. I wanted to check the weather because I had seen the gray clouds rolling in. Not wanting to get caught in the rain, I left quickly, but as soon as I went outside, it started pouring heavily. I waited a few minutes, then ran to the car and drove home, soaking wet. As soon as I reached home, the rain stopped! I called the cell phone provider and told her I could not access wifi. She saw that I was having issues, so she asked me to reset my phone and that did the trick. Amen.
 
Yes, Keto Chow and when you order it from their site you get rewards back. Of course, I order it monthly so my rewards add up.

We had some rain here today too. Poured for about fifteen minutes then the sun came out.
 
Deya said:
We do, but it hasn't been the same since covid. We and others used to do bluegrass there and at one senior home, but it seems the senior center was taken over by complainers that never have anything constructive to say. Right before covid, I did a classical recital and it didn't go well due to focal dystonia. I grew up playing with a violinist. I haven't played since surgery several months ago. No excuse, just didn't have the interest like I once did. We have several friends in their 80s that still play professionally, regularly.
Click to expand...
which instrument do you play or perhaps several?
 
For some reason, yesterday I binged on watching the "Supernanny" episodes recently on Youtube.

I think there's so much truth and wisdom in the way the nanny (Joanne) deals with the family dynamics and issues. I love her accent, and picture Mary Poppins descending on these families, truly. I can see some of my past in some of these shows, too. Not that we had a toxic family, but the sibling dynamics. I remember my older sister and I pulling each others' hair when we were young. I don't recall the reason, though.

These shows are not always about the children being toxic, but about the parents, their parenting styles, and how they communicate with each other. Recurring themes are discipline, responsibility, trust, and engaging with the children. The nanny is not afraid to speak the truth. Given the world we live in, hearing the truth is refreshing. One needs a lot of courage to face her and have so many viewers watching at the same time.

I like to see the positive changes in the families by the end of the show. However, I don't know if the changes are permanent or not, yet each family learns something from the experience having her there.

That was yesterday, today I am washing clothes on the Fourth of July. I plan to watch the fireworks later tonight online.
 
palides2021 said:
For some reason, yesterday I binged on watching the "Supernanny" episodes recently on Youtube.

I think there's so much truth and wisdom in the way the nanny (Joanne) deals with the family dynamics and issues. I love her accent, and picture Mary Poppins descending on these families, truly. I can see some of my past in some of these shows, too. Not that we had a toxic family, but the sibling dynamics. I remember my older sister and I pulling each others' hair when we were young. I don't recall the reason, though.

These shows are not always about the children being toxic, but about the parents, their parenting styles, and how they communicate with each other. Recurring themes are discipline, responsibility, trust, and engaging with the children. The nanny is not afraid to speak the truth. Given the world we live in, hearing the truth is refreshing. One needs a lot of courage to face her and have so many viewers watching at the same time.

I like to see the positive changes in the families by the end of the show. However, I don't know if the changes are permanent or not, yet each family learns something from the experience having her there.

That was yesterday, today I am washing clothes on the Fourth of July. I plan to watch the fireworks later tonight online.
Click to expand...
I have binged on that show too. She was amazing!
 
I have been invited by my previous violin teacher to join her college orchestra composed of students of all ages. I used to play there years ago when I first started learning how to play violin, before switching to the Symphony orchestra. Having played with the Symphony orchestra for over six years, this might seem like a set back, but I am eager to join any orchestra. I stopped playing with the Symphony two years ago because I could not drive to rehearsals at night due to my poor night vision. I have missed that part of my life tremendously, since I have played in orchestras since my youth.

Today, I am looking at some classical music online. I have invited a cello player (the violin instructor suggested her, and she is someone I knew from the past) to visit me and play duets together. We will look at Beethoven and Bach pieces.

So I am looking forward to her visit. I hope I can still play at the level that I used to.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top