WOW!!! Really?

Wednesday, 2-22-2012, the plumber and his team were supposed to come and yank out the old pipes and put in new pipes.  I waited and waited and they never showed.  I had somehow gotten it in my mind that it would be an all day job, maybe even taking two days.  On Thursday, I waited til 10 am and I gave them a call asking were they coming today or what? I was told that they were finishing up some other jobs and that they would be out to my house as soon as they possibly could.  I went about my day and did some homework and hung out with Khamren, until I could not take anymore of Dora and Thomas the train. 

Friday, we had to go to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta and we had planned to be there awhile.  On the way to Atlanta, I made another call to the plumber and asked when are you coming out? I was told they were working on a city emergency and as soon as they could would be at my house to get the job started.

To my surprise when I returned home it was evident that they had not been there. So I called another plumber and he came out, said that he would have to write up an estimate and would get back to me. I thought cool. I went to Moe's with my sister and when I got back there was the plumber I had hired unloading a bobcat to dig with.  While he dug a trench, another guy pulled out pipe from the water meter, another guy came out of the truck with this coil of blue plastic. I asked what was the blue stuff and was surprised to hear that it was piping.  WOW!!!  Really?  He said that they leave the iron old pipe in the ground and use the blue piping. 

Just over three hours and my house had new blue piping and was good as gold.  Plus it did not cost an arm and leg to get the job done.  

Not Ready For A Homecoming

The re-building of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, continues at a slow but steady pace. There are still some buildings an houses that were destroyed that are waiting to be torn down. Some residents are still waiting to return home.  Life goes on in the Big Easy.  I think it is Madi Gras time now. Flocks of people are there partying and having fun, celebrating the season. Are they thinking about what happen when the hurricane came through? Are they exploring outside the city to see the destruction?  Would you? I think I would.  Take my new camera and document the sights. Take pics of the levee and the new construction that has gone up in the previous years.  I wonder if there is a way to tour the dome, where all the victims were housed.  How it looks after the Saints won the Super Bowl a few years ago.  I wonder if I can convince someone to go with me. 

Old Houses

Monday, 02-20-2012, my neighbor knocked on my door,  to tell me that I had water I had water in the middle of my drive-way.  I, of course, went out to take a look and there it was. Lake Woodard.  There was this hole where the water was bubbling up out of the ground. Just like the opening on The Beverly Hillbillies television show, when Jed was hunting and somehow all he hit was the ground and up came bubbling crude.  I called two plumbers, one out of the phone book and the other my neighbor suggested. The first plumber was an ass, thought he was the only plumber in town and I told him that I would have to call him back. The second plumber offered suggestions based on my budget as to what we could do to fix the leak.  I like the fact that he said we, as if we were a team. He said that he could repair the leak at the spot or take out the entire line and replace it. Being that my house is an older house, he thinks the pipes may be original.  I told him that my dad had done some work on the pipes, but I do not remember when that was.  I told him the job was his, let's replace it all.

After he left, I went in the house and got my new camera and took some pics.  I finally got to use it.  Owning an older house is like the movie The Money Pit with Tom Hanks and Shelley Long.  Which is a movie that I like. I need to see if I can find that movie.  I would like to see it again.

whitney

All of my close friends know I am a huge Whitney Houston fan.  We just happen to share a birthday. I was at TARGET when I got a text that CNN was saying she had died in a Beverly Hills hotel. I responded "What!?!"  As I was leaving the store my niece, sent me a text saying the same thing. Adding that it was not a joke. I called her and she gave me the details and we talked about her first concert.  For a birthday present to myself, I got tickets to see Whitney live in concert, I also got tickets for my sister and my niece. My older sister won tickets off the radio a few days later. The concert and company were GREAT!! My niece asked if i was okay? If i was going to cry? I told her that I was okay and I was not going to cry, Whitney is in a better place and I have my own issues to deal with.  In the background I heard Whitney singing "I Look To You", I told LaTria that I had listened to it that morning while reading something for English.  I am shocked and saddened by Whitney death, I was just praying that there weren't any illegal drugs involved.  My love for Whitney Houston  had started to wain, its just natural progression. I feel. I was in high school when I first began hearing about her and I will admit I saw The Bodyguard four times at the show.   I still have the items from the I Will Always Love You concert. I bought a poster and hung it up as soon as I got home. Its still there, after all these years.  A friend sent me a link on FACEBOOK, written by Max Gordon, it was about Whitney and it was wonderful.  I will miss Whitney, especially when our birthday rolls around, I remember the year my older sister got a birthday cake made with HAPPY BIRTHDAY ED and WHITNEY!!  My parents taught us that death can be hard, but life goes on and the earth continues to rotate. I will always listen to her music and watch her movies, but she is in a better place.

black history month 2012 reading list

When Black History Month rolls along each February, I select one or two books by black authors to add to my reading list. I enjoy reading and I put all other book down and concentrate on these. For the longest, I have been trying to get through Toni Morrison books.  Some of my friends and I agree that Toni is a hard read.  I cannot for the life of me tell you why, her books are.  So this year I and Toni are trying it again. I could not convince any friends to join me on this one, but we are reading Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston.  We are going to read it, discuss it, and then watch the movie.  That's the plan anyway.  Then I am on my own for Beloved, by Toni Morrison. That gives me some time to find the movie and I can watch it and order pizza from Mellow Mushroom.  Although, I am suppose to be watching what I am eating.