Saturday 070505 - Continuation - Laundry; Lunch - April 30, 2007 issue of "The New Yorker"; Lowe's - clogged a/c drain hose; Lowe's - chest/dresser keyhole hardware; Lowe's - outdoor stuff and plants; Home - Auger; Home - Blinds; Home - Plants; Home - Windchimes; Laundry - again; Nap - last night's entry; Bumper sticker; Raking; Truth in journalling statement
(Web work - (Sun) 20070506-0700 / (Sat) 20070505 / (Sat) 20070505)

Just before leaving for lunch, I put on a washer load of towels and sheets.

At lunch, I read through the April 30, 2007 issue of "The New Yorker."

"The Talk of the Town" has a piece about the incident at Virginia Tech and the lack of proper gun control. An eternal problem,for which there may be no simple solution. Unscientifically, I would say that the lower gun control is, the higher the probability of a mass shooting is. But, at the same time, there need to be systemic changes in the culture such as a zero-tolerance on bullying, a zero-policy of anything like road rage in any form and much higher fees for traffic violations; recognized limits on the powers of corporate/public executives; diversity training in all companies; anger management training in all companies; extensive education for all public officials. And by all means, I'd also involve others such as churches and schools.

Just as I made it to an article on Barbara Stanwyck, I was finished with lunch, so I'll have to come back to her.

(In - Saturday - 20070505 - 1215: $7.51 - Cash)

The drain hose for my air conditioning unit is clogged, so I was wondering what to do about it. I was standing in the plumbing section, and saw a clerk coming my way, and thought, "This is not her area, I can tell, so it'd be pointless to ask her." But I did anyway, and she said it was not. Then she said, "But I saw you standing here and figured you needed help, so I've put in a request for assistance." WOW! My estimation of her went up about 100%. The plumbing rep was on the phone, but she chased him down anyway, and came back and said he suggested an auger. What a wonderful clerk!

I bought a very cheap auger, and told the check-out person that I appreciated her service. And how people deserve appreciation for the daily tasks they do. If they do something extraordinary, they most likely will receive recognition. But it's the day-to-day tasks that go unrecognized.

(Out - Saturday - 20070505 -1329: $5.39 - Cash)

I went back and looked at the chest/dressed hardware but still did not see anything like keyhole hardware. The clerk said that was a specialty item and gave me the names of two places to try. And then added my best bet might be the Internet.

The last few times, I've used either of the hoses, I've thought about how I need a hose caddy. Of course, they have. them in mucho styles. The most attractive, and most expensive, is one in a coppery look that resembles vines growing on a trellis. I settled for one that had a curved surface behind a flat metal grid. I bought two: front and back.

As I was headed for the plant department, I noticed they had a major-sized wind chime on sale. So I figured that it would make a addition. But instead of hanging it on the carport, I decided I'd hang it under the eaves by the front window where I use the laptop. (I also have another one that was a present from several years ago that I plan to put in the same location.)

I wanted to finish my trio of pots. Last week, I'd gotten a LeAnn CleyeraJaponica for the middle pot. For the smaller pot, I tried a Loropetalum Chinensis - purple -diamond , which is a low-growing plant with purplish-red leaves. For the largest pot, I chose a Highlander Japanese Holly that had been trimmed into sorta of a cone shape.

As I was glancing around, I noticed a plant that I'd never seen before. The leaves grow from a central point with long narrow coppery red curved leaves. It turns out it is a Cordyline. An exotic handsome and pricy plants with would make any bed.

(Out - Saturday - 20070505 -1351: $81.22 - Bank Debit Card)

I tried the auger outside, but no luck. I need to look up on the web what you can do from the inside. Now I have a large plastic pan under the main unit. But it fills fairly quickly.

The blinds came with a separate piece that the instructions said could be used to tie down. But I never could figure out how to use it. So I gave up and moved on to the fishing weights I'd gotten last week. I just used a large paper clip with one end through the weight and the other end hooked to the bottom of the blind. Seems to work fine.

I used the holly for the largest of my three pots , and the loropetalum for the smallest pot. I'd wondered what was the composition of the pots; it turns out it's a specialized form of fiberglass.

I cut drain holes in the bottom of the pots, add about three inches of pebbles, added the plant and filled in with potting soil. The holly was a large plant to start with, but after all this, I couldn't lift it. I had to drag it to the front stoop. (I'm not sure what the proper definition of "front stoop" is. In my case there's a 6-ft by 4-ft concrete lab about five inches below the front door, then three concrete steps leading to the walk.)

So now all three pots are nestled against on the edge of the stoop against the house. Looks great to me. But I also think about that that little area probably cost at least $150.

Just as I got read to hand the windchimes, I realized I did have any hooks. There was most likely another way it could have been done, but I was becoming fatigued, so I didn't feel up to figuring it out.

I suppose I've got to mention bringing in the towels and sheets, folding and putting them away.

By now I felt exhausted, so I took a long nap until after 8. Got up and had a piece of cheese toast, wandered around on the web, and then started last night's entry

"The religious right is neither."

Neither rake nor pitchfork touched my hands today.

In reality, this entry was done at about five different times during the day. I felt it was too complicated to try to split it up.

May 07, 2007 issue of "The New Yorker" (keep)

(Out - Sunday - 20070506 - 2355)