Our last nice day

Good morning.
Yesterday was gorgeous! Sunny and 69. Our normal high for this time of year is 49.
We took full advantage of what is most likely the last time we'll see 60's. This morning it's raining and 53 with temps continuing to fall during the day and tomorrow's high is forecast to be only 37.  :-\
So out I went out and cut down more perennials. I'm about 90% done.  :-)
I also got up on the roof of the house and cleaned the leaves out of all the valleys.

As you can see from this earlier pic, we have a very low roof line, and because of the unusual floor plan, we have 6 valleys. And as you can see with the 2 valleys here, they catch a lot of leaves.
So I blew them off the roof, then out into the yard, and Craig did a final mowing of the yard. Pretty much all the leaves are down now and what few that are left, we'll be able to take care of easily.
My back seem to be at a plateau right now. No worse, but not better. But I'm sticking with my therapy, and I have another session this morning at 7am. And because of that, I better get going.  :-)

Our sad little mall.

Good morning.
I've just returned from cleaning the Salon.
It was a nice, steady, busy, week.
Men came to repair the wall of an empty unit in our mall that was apparently hit by a vehicle.

I say apparently, because it was discovered in the morning. The wall was buckled inwards, but not broken through. No other physical evidence of how it happened. Any who, They had to take out the whole wall and window. It doesn't look like the brick is going to match very well, but we'll see once it's done.

Here's a pic of our new neighbor's space.
They have these posters covering the windows so you can't see what's inside. According to the owner, Herbalife won't let them have what appears to be a store front. They can have no signage of any kind featuring their products. They can't even have an open/closed sign, or even hours that they are open.
They have been very slow the last 2 weeks and I'm not sure they'll be able to make it. Time will tell.

Another pic of our corner of the mall. We're barely visible to the left. The rest are empty.

Across the mall from our space. There are only 2 store fronts occupied in the entire corner now that Jo-Ann Fabrics moved out of that big corner lite up section.
Our mall is U shaped and our wing has the most occupied as we have 5 businesses out of 9 units. In all there are only 8 businesses in this mall of 22 spaces.
I'm glad I don't own this mall, as he's not making much from it. I think he needs to lower his rental rates if he expects to attract more tenants. At least, we have plenty of parking!  :-)
And today is going to be the last  nicer than normal day as temps are forecast into the upper 60's before falling into the upper 30's by Tuesday. So I'll be out in the yard all day, trying to get the most out of it.
And with that, I gotta go!

almost never goes as planned

Good morning.

It's been a busy week so far at the Salon, and today and tomorrow look to be the same.
I went in extra early yesterday to work on the toilet. We've been having issues with the water filling thingy in the tank, so I had planned on replacing it before I started hair work. Well, as usual, things don't always go like they should. I tried to turn the water off to the toilet, but as tight as I tried to turn the valve, I couldn't get the water all the way off, just down to a trickle. I decided we needed a new shut-off value, so I turned the knob back the other way, except as I did, the water stayed at a trickle, instead of full pressure. Great I thought. The damn think is broke and stuck. Oh well. The good news is we were still able to use the toilet. The bad news was it took 20 minutes for the tank to refill. :-\
So, I got a bucket and kept it filled with water so we could go in and refill the tank as needed. This morning, before we open, our mall handyman is coming to replace the valve. He will have to shut the water off to the entire unit to do that, so it was nice he can come in at 7am to do it, since we have appointments starting at 8:30 this morning.
I won't be there, as my physical therapy appointment is also at 7am, but I gave him a key so he can let himself in. Craig won't be there as he thinks it's still the middle of the night, and he'll be just getting out of bed at about that time.  :-)
 And I heard the mall has rented another space. That's 2 spaces in just a few months, compared to nothing the last 4 years. Maybe the economy is looking up.  :-)
Now I'm off for my shower and to my physical therapy appointment.
Have a great weekend!

And back to work

Good morning.
Well, for 3 days, the forecast was for mostly sunny. Instead, it wasn't only mostly cloudy, it was completely overcast.  :-(
I don't know how a person can keep their job when they do it so poorly.
Now you know why I never look at the weekend forecast before the weekend is here since they can't seem to get 1 day right, much less an entire weekend.
Anyway, the election is over, and I imagine half of us are sad, and half of us are happy. Just like the last election. And the one before that. And the one before that. And so on. Now if only everyone would grow up and find a way to compromise to solve our nations problems. But I doubt it.  :-\
But enough of that......
With another crappy day out, I still managed a little outside work. I cleaned and rearranged the shed, so I can get all the outdoor stuff put away, and I mended a couple of fences to help keep the rabbits out this winter.
And we didn't get the dryer fresh air thingy done. The guy called 1 hour before he was to be here and said he would have to postpone the job because he didn't have all the parts he needed. I'm thinking, What? You had a week  to get what you needed and still you don't have it? I could have gone to Home Depot and got what he needed. Oh well, it's not like it has to be done right away. With the colder weather, it hasn't been venting inside, so we have plenty of time. So he's coming next Monday, I hope.  :-)

Pic of Craig and his new car back in June

And I don't know if you've read about the big mpg thing with Hyundai and Kia, but apparently for the last couple of years, they have been using the wrong mpg on their stickers. So that means Craig's Hyundai Accent doesn't get 40 and 30. It only gets 37 and 28. Now apparently Hyundai is going to reimburse car owners for the difference, which means Craig will get a yearly check for as long as he owns the car. And the amount will depend on how much he drives it each year and where he lives. I went online to their website, registered his car, and calculated his amount. $14.62. Nothing to get excited about.  :-)
That's the difference in the cost of gas he would have saved had the mpg been what he thought it was. 
He has to take it in to the dealer to have the odometer verified before they will issue the check.
The same issue is also with Kia, but starting a year after I bought mine. So apparently, mine does get the mpg it said.  :-)
And it's time for another work week, and it's looking pretty busy. So I've got to go.

happy election day

Good morning.
And happy election day! I'm happy at least the ads and phone calls will stop.  :-)
It's another cold on this morning, 27 out and a nice layer of frost on the cars windshield. The hard freeze yesterday morning, did in the remaining fall flowers.  :-(
But I was then able to cut them back also, so now I'm just about 70% done.
I also gave the mo-ho a good final interior cleaning, and it's ready to park in it's winter spot, as soon as the rest of the leaves are down and cleared out.
 I've also returned to physical therapy. My back has been going downhill, and has been aching in the morning. I obviously quit the therapy too soon, and the home exercises aren't enough, so this time I'm going for the full recommended appointments.
I also got the cleaning bug, as I've been on a cleaning mission inside too. Yesterday, I vacuumed, dusted, straighten up, and as I write this, this morning, I've already scoured the kitchen, top to bottom. I think as of right now, the house is the cleanest it's been all year.  :-)
Craig also tried a new dish that I know will become a regular addition.
It called Velveeta Sausage Bake.

 It was yummy! And of course, you can get the recipe here.
 And this morning, we're having the fresh air thingy installed for the clothes dryer, so I need to get a shower and get ready.