If You've Got It, Flaunt It!

Silly cat. I went on my first formal interview today (as opposed to where I just drop in out of nowhere). Hospital was nice, job was on a tele-floor, 100% tuition reimbursement, pay was $18.50 (going rate around here folks!), benefits start the day after I do. I went to the other hospital down the road as a drop in, did an interview anyhow despite my many attempts to just fill out an application and high tail it to the mall. I got nailed with the "applicant survey" - I actually finished it early but the human resources person managed to get the nursing recruiter there by somewhat heroic measures -it's not that I'm a great nurse by any stretch of the imagination, but with nurses getting more scarce they'll just about tackle you in the parking garage just to add you to their roster. Anyhow, hospital is nice, got offered a job on the surgical onc, $20 an hour, but benefits start after 4 months BUT they'll give you a signon bonus that will cover some sort of COBRA like thing. That sucks actually. It's like getting money for your birthday and then buying groceries with it. By the time I got done with the pseudo-interview it was 3:30 and I was a bit of a crabby pants, in no mood for going to the Our Lady Of  End Of Summer Clearance so I went home. I'm getting better direction wise, once I was out of Scranton proper I drove all the way home without using the GPS once. I try to use if only if I really need to or I've got to be somewhere on time. You can get very dependent on it quickly but like I said yesterday, it makes it easier to explore the surrounding area without driving around for hours trying to get home.

More Pictures Of The Estate

Better pictures of the house, the 4th one's the new doors David installed downstairs. He's putting two more sets of them on the main floor and moving the picture window to the wall by the dining room table to let more light in. In the spring he'll be putting in skylights which should brighten things up a bit. He wants to whitewash the paneling because it's so dark but I'm enjoying the campy lodge atmosphere right now. David spoke to another heating guy, this one also wanted to charge him $6500. David told him he could get a heating unit for less, guy said he marked up 35%. David said  it was not $6500. Guy said 2 workers at $90 an hour for the day. David quickie did the math and pointed out it was still way below $6500.  Guy said Well, that's what I charge. David said he'd do it himself and thanked him for his time. Right after he hung up the phone rang. It was heating guy again - he just wanted  to tell him he didn't like working in the Hideout anyhow because it was full of guys from NY and NJ that thought they knew it all. Good Bye.! We've got someone coming today from Sears I think. We'll get one in, but not at that price!

Not As Nice As WV, But Runs A Close Second

 David and I drove around quite a bit today, the nice thing about having a GPS is you're not scared about getting hopelessly lost and it makes you a Brave Neighbor. The 1st picture is the handicapped parking space which I found very funny, there's no bathroom or ramp or anything, it's not even closer to the sidewalk. Just this big handicap spot literally in the middle of nowhere. The 2nd is my newest obsession, christmas tree hats! One is going to Nicky, Kate's little boy. 3rd is Pooh dog who got into the white paint so David's been calling him Spot all week. I've been taking them on morning walks but we're having some technical difficulties with Copper - aka Sir Poopalot. The way he poops every 25 feet you'd think he would just deflate and disappear before we got back to the house. Sometimes I wish he would disappear since it's a bit embarrassing to be walking The Crouching Dog.  AND I had to pull them off the tempting Exploded Possum Snack someone left on the side of the road. The last picture is of those nifty windmills - there's a ridgeline that goes on forever with them - if you do View Larger it's easier to see them. Seeing them for real is very impressive. We of course went to Lowes today and David got new doors for the downstairs since the ones here were shot. Jackson's still in Hampton Bays, we might be having a problem with some relatives AGAIN. I'm considering just taking a break from everyone as I can't take much more of this. It's amazing how many times you can be punished for something you didn't do in the first place.

What Cha Got Good?

The loft's a big hit with the animals, it's great for spying and looking directly down into eveyone's dinner plate to see if it's worth coming down and begging. In other  news, I've discovered one of the best ways to learn the history of your house is not to talk to the RE or do a title search, but to ask the neighbors. the phone guys said it was empty for awhile and  according to the next door neighbor it was rented at one point to "a bunch of animals" that screamed and fought all the time and owned SIX small dogs which would account for the fact David kept smelling dog urine. After he ripped up the rugs on the 1st and 2nd floor, including all the padding the smell went away. Hmm. Yucko. We made another trip to Lowes, we've got lots of closets with no shelves so there's stuff piled on the closet floor. We went to the local restaurant for a late lunch today and sat across from the worst behaved child I've ever seen. He was so loud no one could talk until he left and his mother was one of those that just sat there acting like it was ok and occasionally giving that smarmy smile those people give, as if we're all supposed to think it's cute or something. If he was my kid he either would have been spending some time out in the car (there were 3 adults) or I would've brought my taser. As she was leaving she was laughing and saying "I'll bet the people in the restaurant will be glad to see us go!" I was good and did not shout "YOU'VE GOT THAT RIGHT SISTER" after her. But I wanted to. I've got to say, there were about a dozen other kids in there today and none of them even came close to that little monster. The tempeture's in the 60's today, I can't believe it's still August!

How Are You My Deer?!!

Ok,enough with the deer already. I've stopped counting. That's a picture of them standing in the field behind our stone fence. What they're doing is staring at The Two Stupid Dogs who are sniffing the ground TRACKING DEER. The canine Wonder Twins didn't even see them standing 12 feet away, they're hopeless. The rest of the pictures are of Scranton where I drove this morning to scope out the hospitals. I found the parking garage for the one I'm interviewing at on Tues, I liked Mercy down the block so I'm calling them on Monday. I did an informal drop in on CMC but will be putting them on the back burner for now I think. Since I've got a few weeks I'd like to see all of them. David and I went to Dickson City this afternoon for more Home Depot stuff. We went to a farm stand on the way home and bought some mumms that I've planted on the deck, far away from nibbling deer. There are some brave souls around here that do have bushes and so forth, but then they put that ugly deer fencing around it so you can't see what it is they've got planted. What's the point? We also had a family of turkey in the yard this morning complete with babies. David's currently playing with the plumbing and is working out a few bugaboos. The temp today was in the 60's!! The heating guy will be here this weekend to give an estimate, which is a good thing. I've got a sneaking suspicion fall comes a bit early here!!

If All Else Fails, Show A Picture Of The Cat

Slow day, Carpet guy came and did the 1st floor bedroom which will be Jackson's temporary digs until David has the Dungeon ready for him. Saw 6 deer this morning, they're getting  annoying already. I have to go chase them out of the yard before I take the dogs out because they make them go  bonkers. Phone guy came and phone's done. I've got an interview scheduled at Robert Moses Hospital in Scranton on Tuesday, but I'm going there tomorrow to scope out the lay of the land and look at the other hospitals. I'm not planning on going back to work til the beginning of Sept so I've got a little time to decide. David and I drove around to the various parks and recreational centers in the community, there are two large pools and beaches on the side of the lake. I don't think I'll be swimming in the lake, reminds me a bit too much of Sear Bellows Pond (WHO WANTS SOME IMPETAIGO!) They've got an Arts And Crafts center and you can buy cheesy ceramics anytime you want to paint and decorate. There were about a dozen very intense 10 year olds there when I visited ,all painting funky frogs and Art Deco Ladies With Hats. Could make quite a focal point. David's been busy, I'm trying to keep him focused on one thing at a time instead of 97 different projects. David will be making one last run to WV to get the half a load we left behind and then that's it for that.

Back in Business!!

We arrived here Sat - the second we got out of the car the rain starting pouring and then the electric went out. Thank goodness we had help to unpack! The cable and telephone were on (yipee!)and we did much better than the previous move. There's a great(cheap) restaurant down the road so we don't starve when we get done late. Since we've been here it's been run unpack run unpack.  The cats and dogs have adjusted great - David had a moment this morning in the yard while using the leaf blower. He saw a little black cat next door and thought it was neat they had a cat that looked just like Mr. Lee. Then he realized it WAS Mr. Lee. Just great. The telephone is out today, Verizon said they can't get here til tomorrow. I've posted pictures of the house, the first one is of one of the many deer that roam the area. Yesterday I saw a total of 7 and have seen 2 already this morning. The rest are various pictures to give everyone an idea of what the house looks like - keep in mind we're still in the process of unpacking which most of the time feels like we're trying to fit square pegs into round holes. Nothing seems to fit anywhere, there aren't enough shelves or closets,etc.We've been busy exploring the surrounding area and have visited one farm stand. They grow blueberries around here but I will not go to any stands that have the U-Pik thing going on. Like I'm going to pay someone to treat me like a migrant worker!!