89 thoughts on “Our Daily Thread 4-3-17”

  5. So excited that my son got me my tickets home tonight. It is actually going to happen! We were emailing back and forth and I looked at my computer clock and realized it was probably 1am where he is. Knowing him, he just got home from work.

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  6. Good morning, all. I’ve been up since 4:30 with another rather unpleasant migraine. It’s finally beginning to subside–the med’s have at least taken the edge off….But, getting up that early makes for a long day…..

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  8. Well, good morning everyone. We are in for some bad weather here today. Weather P has been in to make sure I know what to do if I hear or tornado or he yells for me to take cover. He doesn’t realize I was raised by a mother who made the two of us sit in the hallway where there were no electrical outlets every time we had a thunder storm. If there was enough lightning we had to sit in the hot, humid car because the tires were rubber. 😉
    I have been battling allergies all weekend so I haven’t really slept much because despite the fact that I am Southern born and raised, I am not a mouth breather.
    We had a lovely day on the Bay Saturday with my friend Les. I am amazed at her “perkiness” and acceptance. She now knows that chances are each time she has a chemo treatment she will be so sick she will end up in the hospital, she cheerfully looked at the calendar on her phone to tell us whether that would be a good week or a bad week to plan something. I am afraid I would have a much worse attitude if I were in her place. I was a grump last night because I couldn’t breathe. I can’t imagine what I would be like really sick and in a hospital.
    Mr. P and I did work in the yard yesterday afternoon. I pulled weeds until my hands cramped. Each of us mowed a patch of weeds in the back yard. We were tired and really bad for dinner. He ordered us Domino’s pizza for dinner. One part of me thinks Domino’s? Really? Yuck and the other part thought it’s good enough and I didn’t have to cook.

    Liked by 4 people

  9. Ah, the lovely mess that now is my driveway.

    Worker returns today and is trying to hunt down a “rooter” machine to rent or borrow. He has a plan.

    Liked by 4 people

  12. Hi, y’all. It’s gloomy here with rain. Traffic was not bad coming into the office. I am tired and armed with coffee, an extra large unsweetened tea, and water bottle enhanced with aloe. If that is not enough, an overly generous tax client gifted Art with a bottle of Scotch. I don’t think the Scotch will be necessary, but the bottle might come in handy if anyone gets out of line.

    I have not had time to catch up here so I will say prayers that all are well in the blog family. My friend Karen and her husband have the flu. I had an idea sneak into my head that since he has treated some homeless vets that he could possibly know whoever made that bridge fall down. I have not had time to read the detail of whodunit. Karen said he use to take fruit out to the homeless under bridges. Maybe that was to reach out to potential patients. Not sure if that is the reason.

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  13. Drought resistant and very low-maintenance.

    To the left you can see the concrete that is the rest of the driveway heading down a slope to the street.

    It’s the line that continues on underneath that is the main concern currently as there seemed to be a blockage at the 15-foot mark (driveway goes another 15 feet beyond that, at least, all downhills, before it hits the sidewalk and then goes out under the street to meet up with the city sewer line).

    So the options being discussed this weekend were:

    A/ Try again to clear the line with another snake / cable using different size blades; if that works, we cross our fingers and call it done

    B/ On the working assumption that the old clay pipe is likely broken or separated (as it was up near the house which had caused the main problem), worker who knows a guy who knows a guy who knows a guy’s brother-in-law who has a concrete saw cuts the remaining driveway in a 24-inch wide, vertical strip to expose just the rest of the line (while keeping the rest of the driveway intact on both sides) and re-tests and replaces line sections as we go.

    There are more cracks on the driveway, though none as serious as the ones in the mid-section that had caused it to buckle and dip pretty significantly.

    Sounds like Option a will be attempted first.

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  14. Chas (10:17) but there is a toilet in the backyard. And also a wheel barrel that belongs to the latest workers. And a bin full of chunks of concrete in front of the house.

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  15. This popped up on my Facebook memories yesterday from 2014. I needed the reminder. I continue to work on those Boundaries.

    I have long known that if you listen to people they will tell you exactly who they are. I have recently discovered they will also tell you what they think of you and the value they place on you.

    Liked by 1 person

  16. Janice, it’s getting down to the wire for the tax deadline, I just realized. Glad mine finally got turned in, but I haven’t received it in the mail yet. Should come shortly, my guy is pretty quick and mine is not all that different from year to year now. A return will help.

    We also got an “extra” paycheck last Friday (twice a year we get months where there are 3 paydays rather than the usual 2). When we get those ‘extra’ weeks the company doesn’t take out medical — our medical deductions are calculated without those extra weeks — so that means a little bit extra beyond just the additional check.

    So the construction photos are clearly a change of pace from birds and ducks and pretty scenery, but I figured the guys around here might appreciate them. 🙂

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  17. Also to the left — just before the concrete starts up again & with a piece of newer black pipe on top of it — you can see what was part of the old (reddish) clay pipe that separated near the house.

    Real Estate Pal says it’s been likely going on for many years, before I moved in, sending everything into the dirt underneath the driveway; he said it has been so slow to erode because I don’t use a lot of water being a single household.

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  18. Also to the left, at the bottom of the house, you can see the gap where it looks like the house is “lifting up” — thus the foundation issues. It’s built on a hill and, as the dog park driveway Jerry told me, “unfortunately, the front of your house is sliding down toward the street.” Wonderful. That’s the next really big thing that needs fixing.

    I had a dream about all this last night. Someone did something on the house and told me afterwards that the charge for the work would be $14 million.

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  19. The picture looks like a house in Mexico or West Africa. They seem to develop similar cracks – the challenges of a warm climate, or perhaps, the similarity is in the type of building material. There are a lot of century homes with brickwork in the neighbourhood where I’m renting, and they also develop cracks, but the cracks run along the brickwork in a different pattern. Not fun about the sewage pipe. When I was away in Africa, my father very courageously dug out the lines from the septic tank to the weeping bed at home, as they had blocked up with tree roots and other things over the years.

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  21. Well, it didn’t work. I tried to post a video of about 13 young adults singing and worshiping God with Kaitlyn in her hospital room. Amazing to see and hear.

    Liked by 2 people

  22. The leak from the bathroom wall (fixed with the new bathroom, of course) is the presumed culprit in the foundation issue along with shifting land that is commonplace around here as we’re on a peninsula (and my house is on a little hill up from the sidewalk as well).

    Lots of tree roots also found in my underground system.

    Ultimately, hard to tell what came first so it’s sort of a chicken-and-egg issue: Did the shifting land cause the underground line to break? Or did the line break first and cause the land to shift and driveway to crack?

    Jerry’s on his way over with a rooter machine he picked up this morning at Home Depot. He’s going to try to test the rest of that line again to see if (a) we can break through or (b) to determine that the blockage is too significant and probably indicates more pipe damage further down.

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  23. Ancient whale fossils have been found not too far from me (to the west and to the east) so this area we’re on once was largely underwater.

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  24. Much as I like trees, I am trying to make sure none of the thirsty ones are any where near the pipes. And since we put down the pipes, we know where they are.

    I think it would be advantageous to have that line of removeable rock down your drive along the pipeline, just in case of future catastrophe. Seems to me, with the line all dug up, it would make sense to just put down a new sewer pipe along the old one. But then, the California rules may negate the possibility of a sensible solution.

    Liked by 1 person

  26. That’s Jerry’s thought, mumsee, he thinks it would be ore cost effective in the long run and he may be right. Real Estate Pal thinks we try to avoid that, which I can understand as well. Something the men folk were going back and forth on over the the weekend.

    We do have city resources online that show where underground lines are and Jerry’s called those up but said the one image is very grainy and he’s just trying to make sure it goes down the driveway in a relatively straight line. It angles off just a bit as it hits the street, heading a few feet south to hook into the city line.

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  30. Ooooo….they are going to find the problem is a huge rare whale fossil under the driveway…the finding of this treasure is going to pay for the entire excavation and then some! Happy Monday!
    Weather is lovely here today…tonight and tomorrow winter returns…things will then green up around here!
    Kare what a lovely sight to behold…yesterday during service the Lord laid Kaitlyn upon my heart…He cares so much for her…praying she will find rest and comfort in the knowing…. ❤

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  32. If pipe is ok (we can’t see it) and is just clogged with tree roots that can be broken up …

    I trust that these guys are genuinely trying to do right by me, Chas. Not contractors, not a company, they’re both experienced guys I’ve known as guy friends. I know it’s easy to get cynical with all this stuff, but it is really hard work.

    Work has relaunched, noise is coming. We should know more in a couple hours and then go from there. He’s going to try to work up some figures for me so we have a better idea of the way forward depending on what they find. He said it won’t be $14 million.

    I like Nancyjill’s idea of a rare find that’ll pay off big, though. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  33. Roscuro – Last night, I commented, “As for marijuana, I have read that states that have at least allowed it for medical purposes have seen deaths from opioid overdoses go down significantly.”

    And you replied, “Kizzie, marijuana has been legal for medical purposes for years now in Canada. The deaths from opioid overdoses is rising.”

    Isn’t it possible that the number of opioid deaths would be greater if medical marijuana was not legal? IOW, it was legal in Canada before the opioid epidemic struck (& the epidemic would increase deaths one way or the other), whereas here, either the opioid epidemic came first, or around the same time, that various states legalized medical marijuana.

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  34. DG, there is being frugal and there is being a cheapskate. Real Estate Pal is a cheapskate. So you repair and in a year you have to dig it up again? Where is the savings in that? (You know he and I don’t know each other but I feel we have “virually” butted heads several times now. I think the score has me in the lead 😉 )

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  35. I don’t think medical marijuana is that strong, to be honest (and I suspect it’s medicinal benefits have been overstated as part of the push to legalize the drug across the board) — so I’d think it unlikely to ever be a replacement for stronger narcotic-based medications.

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  36. You do know, when it turns out to be whale bones, your house must be turned over to the historical people and you will have to pay them to excavate while you live in a box under the overpass, or in coyote canyon.

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  37. Kim, I tend to agree — if there’s a question about the pipe’s soundness, better to deal with it now. Waiting to see what happens with this latest snake attempt, it’s 100 feet. Jerry says it they can get it through the entire length, it’s probably OK. If not, we go to Plan B, more costly now but maybe less in the long run and more peace of mind in between.

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  39. Kizzie and others…I have no problem with medical marijuana, but I have recently changed my tune on legalizing it. By making it legal it has opened the door to the thought that it isn’t harmful and is the same as enjoying a glass of wine or a cold beer after a hot day of yard work, etc. It is now genetically modified and stronger than ever.
    I have one $26,000 hospital bill that says it isn’t harmless and am waiting to receive the second.

    (Full disclosure—luckily, BG’s stepmother added her to her health insurance plan so our co-pay on the $26,000 bill is about $600 but my position wouldn’t seem as strong if I said I only had a $600 bill saying differently.)

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  40. OK, looks like we’re going with Plan B … They hit another stoppage and said odds are the line is damaged in other places. So …

    Saw a woman walking her dog by (I talked to her before) and realized that’s where the “14” number came from in my dream. She’d said her son wound up paying $14,000 to replace their sewer line nearby. Of course, in my dream it was $14 million but what difference does it make?

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  43. New photo was the fancy schmancy plumber guy who didn’t want to get his shoes dirty. He was the first one to try to clear the line but had no success. Today the “real” guys tried and they hit a dead-end too.

    They’re off to return the machine and pencil out their Plan B, I’m off to work. LAPD circling overhead again.

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  44. Kizzie, medical marijuana has been permitted since 2001. Stats on overdose death are difficult to collect nationwide, since each province has very different reporting guidelines; but one province, British Columbia, has pretty good documentation on the problem. In 2016 the BC opioid overdose death rate was more than 19 per 100,000 people: http://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/public-safety-and-emergency-services/death-investigation/statistical/illicit-drug.pdf. By way of comparison, the highest overdose death rate in BC before the legalization of medical marijuana was in 1998 at 10 per 100,000. The link has a chart that shows the highs and lows of drug overdose since 1991, and while it might have appeared that initially, the death toll went down after medical marijuana, it started rising in the early 2010s and the last couple of years it has spiked drastically. I talked recently on here about the growing problem with fentanyl – this has only appeared in the last couple of years, since Oxycodone was altered to prevent it from being injected, and the Oxycodone problem took place in the early 2010s.

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  45. DJ & Kim, the ‘medical marijuana’ is as strong as the stuff sold on the street. The national broadcaster did some investigative journalism on the content of medical marijuana, this was their findings: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/marketplace-marijuana-thc-cbd-legalization-1.3861144

    When producers visited seven Toronto dispensaries and collected 12 of the most popular marijuana strains, laboratory test results showed average THC levels of around 20 per cent. THC is the active ingredient that provides pot’s high.

    Some strains reached as high as 30 per cent THC, much higher than pot in the 1970s, when levels in Canada hovered between two to eight per cent, according to Jonathan Page, an adjunct professor of botany at the University of British Columbia.

    Marketplace lab tests didn’t find cannabidiol (CBD) in the strains.

    Study after study points to the attributes of combining THC and CBD. The science isn’t settled, but research suggests CBD can mitigate some of the negative effects that can happen with high-THC weed, including anxiety, paranoia, and psychosis.

    CBD is also the focus of much research on possible medicinal benefits in treating everything from childhood epilepsy to schizophrenia and arthritis.

    Dr. Steven Laviolette, a neuroscientist and one of Canada’s top researchers into the effects of marijuana on the brain, says the lab findings are cause for alarm.

    “There’s basically nothing to put a brake on the psychological and neurophysical effects,” he says of the findings.

    Laviolette, who is based out of Western University in London, Ont., has spent 12 years researching the effect of marijuana chemicals on the brains and behaviours of adolescent rats. He found that when the teenage rat brain is exposed to high THC levels, it can produce paranoia, or even schizophrenia-like symptoms in the animals. CBD, however, can reverse schizophrenia-like symptoms, according to his research.

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  47. Sorry to jump in without reading the thread, but just a little note to Roscuro — I found your additional music-related comments after I last posted yesterday to be very interesting and thought-provoking, especially your mention of your friends who were made to practice piano many hours a day, came to hate the instrument, and now don’t use it. (Your earlier thought about musical maturity regarding your playing of the Mozart was fascinating as well.)

    Anyway, when my very busy first half of the week slows down after Wednesday, I will be back with more conversation on those aspects you brought up over the weekend. 🙂 Our dialogue on music, when we have them, never fails to stimulate my thinking about how I can be a better musician, piano teacher, and even homeschooling mom, so thank you!

    “See you” in a few days. Hope you’re getting to feeling better, too, Roscuro.

    Liked by 2 people

  48. Thanks, 6. I don’t often get the chance to discuss music these days, so it is a pleasure for me to be able to do it with you. I’m feeling somewhat better, though I’m still nervous about my digestion.

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  49. First thing I noticed was the fancy clean boots in that photo…kind of out of place standing in that dirt!! 😛
    Many are moving to CO…lots of millennials….I would like to think it is due to jobs, our open spaces, hiking trails, clean air, a neighborhood coffee shoppe on every corner, easy laid back lifestyle of friendly people…but, my suspicion would be a big draw is the pot…some stats thrown about around here would support that suspicion. The Denver DA sent a letter to CA advising of the negatives pot legalization has had upon our state….it outraged some and was applauded by many…for me, I see it as dangerous…as Kim stated. They package this stuff in candy wrappers…children have been poisoned…and so have pets. I just have to think we are a very stupid people when it comes to “I want it and I want it now” attitudes…..

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  50. The “medical” marijuana storefronts are a joke here, mostly attracting kids on skateboards as their customers — ahem, patients. It’s kept the police very busy. The stronger “edibles’ that are appealing to younger kids are a special concern. They’re not in favor of widespread legalization, but that’s where it’s headed (California approved it in November, no surprise, but I think it doesn’t take hold until this summer).

    Agreed, the marijuana today is nothing like that of the past, it is much more powerful. Just saying it’s perhaps not as potent (or, frankly, effective) as the opiates given for serious medical issues, but maybe I’m wrong.

    The plumber’s shoes were very pretty. 🙂 The ‘guys’ were joking about that today.

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  51. I’m not really opposed to legalizing marijuana, not because I think it is harmless, but because I think people are going to have to learn the hard way. The internet has opened up a lot of valuable information for general access, but most people struggle to distinguish what is fact from fiction – I’m seeing this happen in all age groups – and thus are no longer uninformed, but misinformed about topic like marijuana (I wonder, does it never occur to them that marijuana producers have access to the internet and will be using it to market their wares?). When there is an epidemic of psychosis in young people due to the use of pot, the lawmakers won’t have an excuse – they’ve been warned again and again. If they want to take that risk, then it’s their responsibility. The healthcare workers and police will pick up the pieces, bill the government, and say we told you so. Unfortunately, mental health is not fully funded by public health insurance here, so they won’t feel the full weight of the problem, but the tragic accidents due to impairment or suicides/murders due to psychosis will be a big PR blow for the politicians. Yes, that’s cynical, but Samuel was pretty cynical in telling the Israelites what would happen if they got a king.

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  52. DJ, marijuana and opioids act in different areas of the brain, so it is rather like comparing apples and oranges. Yes, opioids can kill by depressing the breathing centre of the brain, but then again, opioids used in medicine have already been highly refined from the plant form of the opium poppy – and opioids like fentanyl and oxycodone are completely synthetic. The worry with marijuana isn’t overdose and death, it is permanent psychological damage. Other drugs, such as cocaine, can damage the brain, but that damage is reversible when the person stops taking the drug. However, the effects of marijuana on the brain appear to be irreversible.

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  54. Oldest son moved to Colorado because he and his wife think it a good place to raise children while still being close to work. I asked him if he does the MJ thing and he assures me that neither of them do. They have seen the impact on others and don’t care to go there. I am glad and I do believe him.

    As for psychological damage, we have seen that in others and have warned nineteen year old but he will do what he wants regardless. Though he seems to be becoming quite active in the Catholic church and that has some good solid folk in it around here. Hoping their impact will help his decision making.

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  55. So, here is my Question of the Day.
    Bill O’Reilly is paying $13,000,000 to 5 women for sexually harassing them.

    WHAT MAN WOULD SEXUALLY HARASS A WOMAN IN TODAY’S WORLD???????
    How stupid do you have to be?

    Liked by 2 people

  62. After having terrible allergies for 5 days and not being able to breathe…we had some serious weather and a lot of rain today, the sun is out and I can BREATHE! I am still a little stuffy but Oh soooo much better.

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  63. Kim @3:42, one who is in habit of taking what he can get, and thinking he is powerful enough to get away with it.

    I’m on the home stretch of the semester, just three more classes. No more homework (I hope), just studying for exams.

    Liked by 4 people

  65. Mumsee, monetary payment was compensation in the law of Moses for seduction (Exodus 21:16-17). Also, in making the payment as compensation, the perpetrator is giving validity to the women’s accusations.

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  67. You know, Donna, when we had rotor rooter deal with our house an hour north of here, they put a camera down our sewer and we could see what the issue is. Certainly in your case it would show if the pipes are broken.

    So sorry this is happening to you. It’s a problem because that hillside and much of CA, including my yard here, are all on adobe clay which holds water in the winter and releases it in the summer, meaning the land always is flexing by the season. That explains some of our cracks.

    My engineer looked at your photos–he’s been following the saga through me–shook his head and wished you well.

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  68. Marijuana and kids–even once can alter the brain chemistry forever.

    Fortunately, here in California everything is about the kids [sarcasm off], or at least what is most convenient to the adults at the expense of the kids. 😦

    It’s decimated the aforementioned town north of here. Terrible.

    Here in our town, our local government is determined to become the marijuana capital of CA. The newspaper cheers them on. But the poor marijuana growers are horrified that they are expected, now, to abide by the law, pay their taxes and deal with neighbors who don’t want them there.

    It smells terrible when in season–and yet those same poor marijuana growers, “mom and pop growers,” as the paper calls them–are having to fight to be able to grow as much pot as they want in their suburban neighborhoods–and then the indignity of having to be taxed! They might go out of business!

    But the only reason, IMHO, that law passed is the promise of taxation. How often did we hear, “we might as well get some taxes for it.”

    The kids are going to need that money–if we baby boomers don’t seize it all for our underfunded pensions here in the golden state.

    I really do need to turn off the sarcasm . . .

    Liked by 1 person

  70. Michelle — ah, cameras. I OK’d plumber about a month ago to do that and he said yep, broken pipe just outside the house under the driveway. But Real Estate Pal pitched a fit, apparently cameras often are used to hoodwink people into repairs (I get that, but think they’re also valuable diagnostic tools at times). At any rate, plumber didn’t charge me, was even nice when I called to cancel the appointment for them to come back after Real Estate Pal insisted we’d find someone cheaper than a Roto-Rooter plumber.

    So now, realizing probably the wisest course is to replace the rest of that old pipe going down the 80-foot-long driveway, we’re at a 1-day impasse until Jerry, who’s doing the job,can work up a Plan B today (he should have that to me by this evening). I’m hoping work will resume by tomorrow and we can get through this quickly.

    And yes, there has been clay found in the soil here and there.

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  73. So, that brain change, does it happen in utero as well? Most of my children have experienced that as well as other drugs. And early smoking of it as small children.

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  74. Yes, Phos, but I doubt it would have been done secretly. And it is the law of Moses, which we don’t generally adhere to.

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  81. Whether receiving monetary compensation for sexual harassment (or worse) is biblical or not, our courts allow it on the bases of “damages”, for emotional trauma & such, & as a way of punishing the wrong-doer.

    Back to the marijuana thing: Just so ya know, I’m not trying to push the matter. The reason I tended to believe that it might help keep the opioid problem down somewhat is because the friend who has shared a few articles about that is on the conservative-ish side, & is a statistician, so he usually knows what he’s talking about (or sharing). Then again, I have disagreed with him on other issues.

    There are a lot of articles that paint marijuana as not only pretty harmless, but even beneficial. But I have also read other articles that show the other side. Unfortunately, many choose to believe the positive takes, & think the negative ones are from conservative old-fogies, & thus reject them.

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  82. Previously, I have mentioned how my brother seems to have cut me out of his life. This adds more weight to my feeling about that. . .

    Brother’s family tree is up on Ancestry.com. I was able to take a look at it.

    I am not in it.

    My parents are, our first cousins on Mom’s side are, his birth dad & his siblings are. But I am not. If you click on either of my parents’ names, it indicates they had a son. No daughter.

    Ouch. (Okay, more than ouch. When it sunk it, I cried.)

    Liked by 2 people

  83. Roscuro – Speaking of siblings. . .I notice that you refer to your siblings, rather than sisters, & siblings-in-law rather than brothers-in-law. Is that a Canadian thing, or just your personal preference in writing? Personally, I think sister is a prettier word than sibling. 🙂

    (I’m not being critical or teasing you, I am just curious.)

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  85. Our Septic tank/leach field is backing up into the house. Do you think the 100+ inches of rain we have had since October have anything to do with it? Oh, half the roof empties into the leach lines area and the 2 springs in front of the house empty into the same area too.

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  86. Kizzie, I got into the habit of referring to my siblings when I was still on World and trying to be discreet about identifying personal details, as sibling is not gender specific. The habit has stuck, though I have gotten more comfortable about talking about my family.

    Liked by 1 person

  87. And about the marijuana and possible beneficial properties, the news article I shared makes it pretty clear that any possible benefits seem to be contained in the cannabidiol (CBD), while the THC is the psychoactive ingredient, and, as the Marketplace survey of medical marijuana suppliers showed, there was not only very high levels of THC but also no CBD in the plants they tested.

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  89. Kizzie I am so sad to hear about your brother’s decision…praying for our Lord to bring comfort to your precious heart….(do you mind me asking if he has any spiritual leanings….?)
    Bob it would seem you and Donna have much in common at the moment…not certain which situation is more frustrating to remedy….I’m thinking moving two springs and roofline drainage would be a huge headache…..

    Liked by 2 people

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