Get Away Day

Get Away Day

Finally, time to get home and centered.  I really don’t enjoy these trips without Cindy. Went to the neighbors last night, a joint dinner for me.  They are just about the best neighbors you could ever ask for.  They are so generous with their time, watching over the house and yard and making sure everything is ok.  Makes us feel so much better knowing they are here.

Lots of last minute jobs to do today, but they are done and I’m out of here in two minutes.  Got the Golden Call from United that my upgrade cleared so it should be a lovely flight home. Moscow here I come!!  Ciao, wm

767-300 aka Chariot Home

Monday,Monday

Oktoberfest was a grand event. Colin, Meagan and Hannah made Bavarian deviled eggs, potato salad, roasted onions, two kinds of grilled wurst and pretzel rolls  which we washed down with great Oktoberfest beer.  The music was appreciated by the entire neighborhood, until I turned the volume down.  The day was just picture perfect and when it got dark and cool, I fired up the old chimney we purchased in Mexico and fed it with all the dead branches from the trees around the deck.  We all marched to bed rather early since Meagan had to leave the house at 5:30 to see what the commute would be from here to the Dept. of State. She made it in 58 minutes, which I’m assuming is a world record.

I had a lot of things to get done today since I’m out of here tomorrow.  I was at the dentist at nine for a cleaning, which only took thirty minutes. They try to tell you that you are doing such a great job of keeping things clean and healthy, but I think it has more to do with being able to see more patients in a day.  Ran around picking up dry cleaning, a bit of banking, returned some things and exchanged them for others and found my way to Wal-Mart to pick up about twenty color patches of red paint to try to match the paint in our red room. Cindy wants to make sure the rugs she picked out will not clash with the room.

I learned something today that I think is absolutely the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard of.  You need to have an optometrist’s prescription to replace one lens with clear glass!  Cindy has a pair of glasses that she wanted to use for night driving while wearing contacts.  All she wanted was to replace one lens for clear glass since her contact in that eye does all the work.  IMPOSSIBLE.  Like a dummy, I tried to apply logic into this discussion and was told that if Cindy got into an accident with glasses that they gave her without a prescription, they could be sued. I said she would be more likely to have an accident wearing the glasses as they are now but my arguments fell on deaf ears and we’ll have to figure out something new.

Colin and I rearranged the garage and threw lots of stuff out before getting his pop-up stored for the winter.  The lady at the homeowners association was very apologetic when she found out that the trailer was only in the driveway for six days and that we never had any intention of storing it outside.  I laugh when they talk about keeping the area beautiful since the house right behind us has filled their front yard with graves, crucifixion scenes of witches, hosts of goblins and ghosts, a nightly sound/light show and miles of police tape identifying the area as a crime scene.  So it is ok to crap up your yard for all to behold for a month before Halloween, but goodness don’t get caught with a trailer in your driveway.

I feel like I’ve been gone for weeks instead of six days.  Can’t wait to hop on the big bird tomorrow and I’m hoping that they check the gas cap so that they don’t have to turn around over Nova Scotia like they did last time.  Ciao, wm

Oktoberfest Casa Embee

Today is Oktoberfest at Casa Embee.  It is a magnificent day with lots of sun, white clouds and blue sky with a temp of 80 degrees.  Colin, Meagan and Hannah have been cooking all day and soon we’ll be on the deck celebrating.  I’ve managed to find four cassettes of Bavarian music. (Cassettes were what we used to play music in the old days).  I even found my old cassette player with great speakers and the yard is filled with the sound of music.  I tried to get into my lederhosen from 1984, ah, memories.  I have a better chance of getting Israel and Palestine together then I do getting my button to meet the buttonhole. 

The Staples of Life!

We have three six-packs of great Oktoberfest beer and they are cold and beckoning so they trump the blog.  More tomorrow!!

http://www.oompahband.com/bavarian.mp3

My Heart Belongs to Hacker-Pschorr

The Great Educator

I was waiting for the school bus to arrive yesterday since I wanted to give one of the neighbor boys a card with a little money in it as a thank you for taking care of our mail.  Kaden is ten years old and is about as responsible as any adult could hope to be. Everyday he checks our mailbox, pulls out the mail, enters the code for the garage door and places the mail inside.  From what I can tell, he has never missed a day. While I was waiting, the first bus came with the younger children. Two of the neighbor kids ages 7 and 5 got off the bus and ran to their dad.  The dad started to take them home and the 7 year old decided to stay with me and wait for his other brothers.

He had a book he was reading and it looked like a pretty advanced book.  I asked him about it and he gave it to me with a quick synopsis.  It was about an emperor in China and how he banished dragons to some mountain range.  He told me to look at the map, which I did.  There was a representation of the Great Wall of China and I asked him if he knew anything about it.  He did not so I started to explain why it was built, who built it, what it looked like, how it functioned etc.  He kept looking at me and nodding and about three minutes later the other bus turned the corner.  I handed him back his book and he smiled and said, “Mr. William, I didn’t understand anything you said, but it seems interesting.”  Perhaps I’ll only sub in higher grades!

Dinner was a lot of fun and despite Patrick’s best efforts; he couldn’t eat everything that I prepared.  I got caught up on how the kids are doing in school, their friends, their extra curricular activities and the normal dinner time conversations, which is always fun.  Olga has gotten back into running and it shows, wish I could run a bit but these knees are not cooperating, not to mention my lungs.

It was a crisp 37degrees this morning when I went for a walk but now it is up to 72 and it feels delightful.  I’m about to hit the yard and get some work done while the sun shines and before Colin and Meagan arrive. 

Best to all, Wm

Medicare Madness

I received two pieces of mail today that confirmed two things that I already knew:

1.     My Medicare Card arrived which confirmed I’m officially old.

2.     A letter from Medicare told me I had to pay an extra $110 per month for Part B, which confirmed that the government is screwed up.

For the youths among you, you need to apply for Medicare three months before you turn sixty-five.  In the application there is a section, which allows you to defer, without penalty, paying for Part B (Doctors) if you are covered by a health care program. I filled that out telling them I was covered by my spouse.   The card that arrived had me listed for both Part A (Hospital) and Part B and I was told they would start billing me in December for the Part B. 

I can’t believe how incompetent the SS administration can be. They allow you to do things online, which is good, but then they don’t seem to read what you have written.  I called the number they provided to figure things out and was on an automated system for ten minutes with no way to get out of it.  They talk to you like you are twelve, and they repeat and repeat and it is horrible. Finally you enter all your information and the real person comes on and asks you for the same information!!  

I tried to explain to Rose what had happened and her response was that I must not have indicated that I wanted to defer Part B. I asked her if she would like me to fax a copy of the form I filled out online, which I had printed out for my records.  “Just a moment please I’ll check with my supervisor”, six minutes of horrible music later, Rose told me that I needed to write a letter stating that I was covered, did not want Part B yet and then gave me the address as to where to send said letter and my Medicare Card.  I’ve sent the letter and we’ll see what happens.

Unfortunately, that was the highlight of the day.  I’ve been running around trying to get everything done that needs to be done, so that I can spend the rest of my time here in the yard.   The kids and Olga are coming for dinner tonight so I’ve made a huge pot of chicken cacciatore, loaded with veggies, chicken and sausage, that should last for days unless Patrick brings his big appetite with him tonight.  Colin and Meagan are coming up Saturday afternoon so that we can celebrate Oktoberfest on Sunday on the deck.

Cindy went to a Rug Party tonight and found two rugs that they are letting her ‘evaluate’ for two weeks before purchasing or returning.  The one I could see looks lovely.  I’m sure she’ll provide more information. She has to work all day tomorrow to make up for the time that was missed during the smoke and heat. Poor puppy will never get caught up on sleep.

Happy Weekend, Wm

Small Town Pleasures

Charles Town Courthouse

There are some great joys to living in a small town, and Charles Town is a very small town. One of them is getting things done and getting them done quickly.  The bank is next to the post office, which is next to the espresso joint, which is only a few doors away from the propane gas company, which is only a block from the insurance company, well, you get the picture.  I had to visit all of the above and simply parked once and walked around my fair city on this glorious fall day.  Earlier I had to go get my driver’s license renewed at DMV, which is about a ten-minute drive from here. I was signed in at 10:58 and after getting my eyes tested, identity confirmed, picture taken and credit card swiped for $13, I walked out at 11:22 with my new five year license.  Plus, they all smiled, were competent and called me sugar.

I very much miss having the ability to ship things to where we are living.  I feel like a mule with all the luggage I bring back and forth from Moscow, but we have no alternatives at this point.  Luckily I can still check three bags for free on United so I can cram a lot of stuff into three checked bags.   Made the rounds of Wal-Mart today getting those essential odds and ends at bargain prices compared to Moscow. 

There are a few disadvantages in living in a small town and one of them is the fact that everyone knows your business. I received a letter today from our homeowners association telling me that they would like me to remove the camping trailer that is in my driveway. It has been in the driveway since Sunday! It appears that it is an eyesore and someone ratted me out.  The trailer belongs to Colin and Meagan and it is a little pop up thing that is only about three feet high but someone finds it ugly.  It really isn’t a problem since we have lots of room in the garage, but it does make me wonder about the other ‘ugly’ things in driveways, like the guy with his bass boat with the for sale sign, or the other guy with a dune buggy on his lawn, or the guy with his car on blocks.  I’ll write a lovely letter back telling them that I’ve corrected the problem and asking gently about the above.

Cindy is well and filling her time with work and language lessons, which she repeats selected parts of to me on Skype. Don’t know what we did before Skype, well I do know what we did, we ran up huge phone bills or fax charges, but Skype is so much more personal and free.

Best wishes to all, wm

Old Jail

City Hall

Washington Street, the main drag.

Charles Town

Greetings from Charles Town.  Getting here was pretty simple.  I must admit that when the Metro stopped between stations for five minutes, I was a bit worried that I wouldn’t catch the train, but everything worked out pretty well and I had a full minute to spare.  United was on time and the flight was just great. Dulles continues to be an embarrassment for international travelers.  It took forty-three minutes to get from the plane to the immigration lines, which were very long.  The taxi ride here was most enjoyable since we missed most of the traffic and it was a glorious day and the fall colors are spectacular.

Colin and Meagan were here for the weekend so the house was a clean and shiny and they left me a delicious dinner of chicken pasta and veggies, and two ‘all American’ hamburgers, so I didn’t have to go out for anything and could just veg.  Tried to sort through piles of mail and stuff but just didn’t have the energy so I went to bed early and slept well until 4:30am.  Finally got up about seven and coughed my way though the first hour of the day until it finally passed.  Not too much fun having a chest cold when all you want to do is work around the outside of the house.  Just walking was more than I could deal with, although it is beautiful outside.

Colin came up this afternoon and we had a little lunch and conversation.  He is waist deep into his law studies and only had two days to appreciate his retirement.  Time to nap.  Best to all, wm

PS: This is a great slide show on some of the best Metro stops in Moscow:

http://www.businessinsider.com/moscow-subway-pictures-2010-10