Weekly Chat (Non-Osprey), 12 December 2021

Goodness! Have slept and slept...Still my OH says, it must have done me good.

Thanks to Diane for starting us off again. Glad you survived that awful day and night without too much damage, I hope.

So, now it's Sunday. Been watching furniture and contents moving around - slow beginning Friday, a bit more going on yesterday and a big effort so far today - all to be finished by bedtime as painters are starting at seven tomorrow morning!

Had a quick look through chat and glad Diane is safe - sorry it was so horrible while the storms went through. Difficult decisions to make, but glad you can slow down for a few weeks and do some planning at last.

Can't answer everything now, but please remember I personally am not physically busy - wish I could be - but I just carry it all in my planning head! Will be glad when tomorrow is done. Not worried about garden man. He has just messaged to say he needs to finish a job Monday, so will start here Tuesday morning - suits us as less vehicles to park Monday and weather should be better on Tuesday too. Don't know how long he will be here, but he will just get on with it and not be in the way! J is very stressed about it all.

OG - I think that if I was you, I'd be frustrated at being unable to do anything except planning ! But you are good at organising and that's half the battle. It must be awful for J. I nursed patients with chronic anxiety, but although understanding it intellectually, didn't really know what it was like until it happened to me. It is a very very crippling condition which medication can assist with but not cure. Sending best wishes x

Relieved you are. okay, Diane. It blew a hoolie here overnight but other than a few power flickers, I was lucky. some people in Rochester still are experiencing power outages. I hunkered down, made calls to local friends to make surre they were okay, and got my scotch out!

I am also glad your editing ordeal is over. I think your idea about an Amish tiny cottage is an excellent idea. Something of quality small enough to be able to be maintained sustainably. Yes, it will cost, but considering future unknown maintenance costs on your present house, it may be saving you in the long run. I'll be interested to know how your research progresses. But first, a car seems necessary. Please take care!! Good to see you back here!

This is a quote from an obituary in my local paper today. He was a 19 year old autistic man who died in a tragic accident..
He was obviously a brilliant thinker and a delightful human being.

“I am proud to be who I am. Many of my favorite qualities about myself are a direct result of my
neurology. Normality is overrated. The aggregate knowledge and worth of a society is much greater with
higher diversity.”
“Never be afraid to be yourself. Eccentricity is often penalized, curiosity often systematically eradicated.
Those who choose to ignore those societal norms and go where others haven’t are the ones who truly enact
change.”

That's wonderful, bjane!

bjane - That is such a lovely quote. And so true. We should all feel we can be ourselves rather than what society thinks we should be. I frequently allow my thoughts to bubble into words and have been both embarrassed and chided for doing so. My daughter, who is quite severely mentally handicapped (I'm sorry - I can't bring myself to use the phrase 'learning difficulties' ... ) frequently says things that make others look askance - but she is being who she is. I'm so sorry for the family of the young man who died - in his short life he has left a wonderful legacy. Long may his memory live on.

Morning all:  A last bit of sweeping and tidying up in the garden today before a storm arrives tomorrow for two days.  Rain!  Yay!  

Diane:  I just love the idea of a tiny Amish-built cabin.  It would be brand new without the ongoing fixing-up that your current house (and any older house) inevitably needs.  Any chance they could salvage wood, etc., to save on costs?  I'm sure you'll be checking contractor licenses with the state, the Better Business Bureau etc.  And of course, Google and Yelp reviews.  :-)  

Meanwhile, thanks ALL for news and photos.  Onward and upward....

Pat- I know what you mean. My daughter is physically handicapped and deaf. She frequently says and does things that the family has had to translate to a more understandable form . Others, through her life, have not always been kind to her. She has become a bit of a hermit.

Diane - thanks for your worry. We had some high winds but nothing like the Kentucky and Illinois tornado.
Our derecho on August 10th of last year was the worst I had ever encountered. It ranked as the worst and costliest thunderstorm ever recorded in the U.S. Sustained straight-line winds of 140 miles an hour for over 45 minutes took out 65 percent of our tree canopy. The remaining trees are all slanting to the east. Cedar Rapids was known as the city of trees, now it looks barren. The city is still recovering and we are still recovering from the flood of 2008. It just takes time. but we were fortunate that only 1 life was lost!
I agree with others that the Amish cabin would be the way to go. We have quite an Amish community near here and they do a lot of custom work on homes in Cedar Rapids. My nephew had them reroof his house.