Thursday, November 22, 2018

Fall?


Well, maybe ....

This morning's sweeping gleaned a few red leaves,
but that doesn't mean the whole tree got the message.

One colorful persimmon leaf from the neighbor's tree, and a few red bits from my vine-leafed maple...

The lace-leaf maple in the top left corner has a wee bit of pink tint in the top leaves, but hardly the showcase of former years.

The corner plum has contributed a few yellow leaves and the neighbor-to-the-south's Japanese maple is only dropping shrivelled brown leaves.

At least the sauna weather has been replaced by cooler days and cold nights.




Thanksgiving brought talks by facetime or phone with all my darling kids and grandkids. Norie and I had a nice lunch together to celebrate the day. Then we made a trip to the ward-office to gather up a few of the papers needed to claim what small social security payments might be available.

The week has been spent trying to solve the problem of someone putting screws into my back tires on my van. I at first thought it might have been an accident of driving over a nail. Then, on Saturday, at a scouting event, my tire went flat for a second time. My Scouting friends leapt to my aid and repaired my tire, and I was surprised to see that the object they removed was not a tack or nail, but a hardboard construction screw ... the kind put into walls with a power tool.

When I returned home and told my daughter, I learned that that was the same thing that had happened to the other back tire a few weeks before. The screws were both stuck in the center of the back tire, pushing in as the car drove along. I had been having some problems with the car being damaged while parked in the lot, and began to think about my former parking space.

That lot was owned by the owner of a construction company. At one point, they had called the police saying I had damaged their fence. Well, it was a very battered fence and none of the damage lined up with anything on my car, though I had a scrape on the bumper from a time at camp when the car slid on snow up against the curb. For that, I had statements from the two Scouters that pushed my car back on the road. The insurance company stepped in and the construction guy gave up ... but then the car was keyed. Pee and poop was put on my doors, and the fee was raised so we looked for a new spot a bit farther from home but cheaper.
It has been probably 8 years at our "new" spot with no problems. Then, the lot across the street from the parking lot gate became a construction site. Ever since that work began, there have been small issues of keying the doors, breaking the mirror cover, paint sanded off the fender, and now the second flat tire.

I talked to the police. They said they would check on patrol. Yeah, once a day check ....
Norie called the parking garage. No cameras ... too expensive, and no open spaces to move to....
The insurance company (a new one) can't do anything without increasing my insurance to above the price of the tires....
I wonder is the former guy has discovered my car ... not hard to identify, as it is a camping van, and within sight of the construction across the street. The workers do not seem to come to work by car, so may be local or even part of the former problem. Meanwhile, I am looking for a place to park until the problem is over. I talked with other drivers in my area and they have had no problems. I talked with the owner of the lot where the construction is being done, and told him what was going on.  I really don't need a problem to interfere with my sleep at night, so hopefully I will find a solution.

Meanwhile, the blocks on the big quilt are almost finished with the in-the-ditch quilting.

Choir practice for our "Choir Sunday" presentation is winding down with two more big practices left before our delivery. (And a big beautiful electric keyboard arrived from Ken for my birthday so I can check my pitch in the home practice.)

School goes on. Scouting goes on. And I am giving great thanks for my wonderful family and friends. 

12 comments:

  1. I am so sorry you are having so many problems. You are such a nice person, I cant understand why anyone would want to be so mean to you. I hope you find another place soon and that the police find out who is doing these pranks.

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  2. I hope you find a suitable solution to your car problem. "Hardboard construction screws" sure points to the former guy - but it's so difficult to prove. Maybe the owner of the lot will catch him (or his accomplice) in the act - that would be nice. Your new keyboard from Ken sounds like the perfect birthday present - what a thoughtful gift! Glad you had a nice Thanksgiving - I'm thankful for having a friend like you - ;))

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  3. So sorry you've had this problem especially since you do so much good work. How mean can some people be!

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    1. I was reminded of a sentence in Lloyd Alexander's "The Remarkable Journey of Prince Jen", that hate is like acid in a bowl, It destroys the container rather than what it is against. How true!

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  4. Our trees have a few leaves left, but most are gone now, winter has come.
    That is a shame, not only the inconvenience, but the cost to you to have to repair them.
    I hope this week goes better for you.

    Debbie

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  5. What a horrible worry to have about your car! It is very damaging to the heart to feel picked out for pranks or meanness. When I had blog hacker problems years ago I really felt hopeless about a lot of things completely unconnected to the problem.

    Though there seems to be ONE strange person out there trying to inconvenience you there are HUNDREDS standing beside you, loving you, knowing you are good and honest, and we all keep you in our hearts/prayers!

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  6. Hoping that a way out of this car parking problem will be made clear. There are too many mean and spiteful people who like to take their hurt out on other people. I love your black & white quilts. And I enjoy the other photos that you post, too. This one is cleverly artful! Stay strong.

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    1. Our prayer group will be bombarding this person with prayers for him to let go. Hate is like n acid that destroys the container and he needs to let go.

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  7. So sorry to hear about the car vandalism. Horrible! Best wishes for a quick resolution to that situation.

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  8. Had similar problems w/ screws in tires and foul phone calls. Though the phone co. refused to get involved, a single call to the police persuaded the phone company to do more.
    Tire problem, looking back I wish we had involved a security co, camera etc. Would have been worth the cost to get evidence. Had 3 tires damaged. Would have been less expensive to hire a investigated.
    You're a nice person & don't deserve to have these worries. Take good care.

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  9. Our trees have been glorious this year - which was not expected as we had quite a dry summer and they usually just shrivel up and fall off rather than turn pretty colors. The cottonwoods are a glorious golden yellow this year and the hillsides almost appear to be set afire with their glow. Even with many heavy rain and wind storms the leaves hang on and still look so grand. I'm so sorry that you are having troubles with some mean person doing awful things to your car. One often wonders what makes people act like that - when being nice is so much easier. Hope it gets resolved soon.

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  10. Sorry about the vandalism. Hopefully it will stop.

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