A couple of things of note

One.  I found another Pablo look-alike:

 

Pablo would not wear a hat, tho.  He doesn't like his ears to be covered.

Two.   This one made me really laugh, which felt good:

Those of you who know me will understand why this is so funny (at least I think you will).

Three.  There's something about animals (other than the human type) wearing clothes:

 

I'm very happy to not be the one who has to get these shetland ponies into and out of their shetland sweaters.   I have enough trouble with Pablo's LL Bean field coat.  Great job of knitting these to fit, though!

Four.  The river is a bit icy this week, tho I think it's starting to melt, it's a bit warmer now than it has been:

Considering this is salt water, I don't quite get how it manages to ice over.  The ice comes and goes with the tide.  It's been several years since it's been cold enough for this to happen, I think it's only gone to solid ice once (I'm thinking it was 2002 or so) since I've lived here, which is since 1998.  

I think the part that gets to me is, it reminds me of the scene in Pikovaya Dama when Gherman doesn't show up as expected (or doesn't recognize her once he does arrive) and Liza kills herself by jumping into the river - some production I saw somewhere looked kind of like this, but maybe with more ice. 

loooooong week

This has been an extraordinarily long week, and it's only Thursday night.  One more day of doing puzzles for profit, then two days of getting my ceiling banged into place, followed by another day of interviewing contractors for things like garage doors.  And oh, yes, the structural engineer who I really could have liked to talk to two months ago is coming on Monday to tell me noone but me is going to pay for the roof that failed miserably in the hurricane.  Oh, excuse me.  SuperStorm.

In their great lack of wisdom, the homeowners' insurance company decided, without informing me of the fact, that I need a structural engineer to examine my broken roof.  Nice idea, except, since it's been raining every other day since Sandy, and that rain has been encroaching severely on my living space due to the roof not doing its job anymore, I had the freaking roof replaced.  Scroll down a bit, I think they finished a couple of weeks ago.  Dry as a bone in here since then.

So said structural engineer is coming to look at something which no longer exists.  Don't you love farce?  My fault, I fear.  I thought that you told me to replace the damned roof (again), my dear.  Good idea to get it done before the incoming weather ruined the floor and walls and anything else under its porous covering.  Had I waited, my claim might have been much, much more.

My main aim in life at the moment is to keep my living space, poor as it is, in liveable condition, and avoid additional damage to same, while maintaining some semblance of sanity, and working full time at a job that is a two hour commute (one way) from home.  Sending me a structural engineer to entertain with tales of two roofs at this late date does not help me accomplish my goals.

Penalty points off the score for the insurance company.  Flood insurer is winning at the moment in the helpfulness department.  And actually, car insurer wins the contest hands down, that deal is done and closed long ago.  I wish they could insure my house, too.

anybody got a gospel choir handy?

I need them to sing the chorus parts for me today:

The roof is done!  - Hallalujah!

The materials for the living room ceiling (including insulation) are being delivered tomorrow!  - Hallalujah!

I actually got to work three consecutive days this week!  - Hallalujah!

Not to mention, the sun is out, it's not bone-shattering cold outside, the wind has died down, and Pablo and I had a nice walk on the beach today!  - Hallelujah!

We may be on a roll here!  - Hallelujah!

Thoughts on the new year and the one ended

I suppose the world expects to hear something about how great 2012 was, and what my hopes are for 2013.  I've been chewing over this for a while, and while it's still not digested, I can safely make a couple of statements at this point.

1.  2012 was a pretty good year, all in all, if you leave off everything from 29 October onwards, which was sheer living hell.  Funny how those last couple of months cast a very very black shadow on the entire year.

2.  2013 ought to be better, since I suspect it will be hard pressed to be worse (again, those last two months of 2012 really muck up the stats for the year).

Do I have any "resolutions" for the new year?  Generally speaking, no.  What might normally sound like a resolution in my case is more like a hope, as in I hope life can more or less get back to normal (real normal, not the much acclaimed "new normal").  I hope to be able to forge ahead with getting this place back into some sort of liveable condition, with the longer range goal of getting it in shape to put on the market, so I can go live anywhere else, so long as the new place feels safe, which this one does not.  I'm not sure it is inherently unsafe, it just feels that way to me.  Of course, my view is colored by my PTSD, which is raging in full bloom.

I hope that once my COBRA is in place (wasted the whole day yesterday trying to get it set up), I can go to some sort of head doc and get some chemicals to help with the PTSD, since in the US there is no longer anyone who does talk therapy, mainly because the health care system frowns on that sort of thing, and generally won't pay for it.  This too shall pass, I know, but I could appreciate a bit of help with it now and again.

I hope to get in a lot of opera in 2013.  I would like to go to Europe for some of it, but that is highly unlikely at the moment, and now is when I need to be acquiring event tickets and such, so it probably won't happen.  I can stick to the US, and maybe explore some new venues, since I have friends in the business who are literally all over the place these days. 

I hope to be able to get to work on a regular basis.  Being stuck at home freezing to death indoors and waiting for various contractors who keep not showing up is not helping with the PTSD.  I'd much rather be doing something productive. 

I hope everyone I know had a better 2012 than I did, and will have a wonderful 2013.