Down the List

I’ve finally reached a point where my calendar is empty, but I’ve got a bunch of miscellaneous tasks that have to be dealt with. I made a list yesterday morning and then started hacking away at it. I am hoping to have everything crossed off by the end of today. I’ll have to go into town for a bit for an appointment and to get my summer tires put on. I checked with the tire place yesterday morning—shortly after they opened at 8 am!—and they were already booked. I am on the list for this morning. Most places won’t take appointments, but this particular shop gives preference to their long-time customers.

I spent yesterday afternoon repotting tomatoes. Being responsible for growing the inventory for this plant sale has been weighing on me. It has been a cold spring and plants either didn’t germinate or they germinated and grew slowly. Our greenhouse is not hermetically sealed, so even though we can heat it, the environment isn’t entirely like a commercial greenhouse. I am hoping the predicted warm temps coming this week will encourage some of these plants to get bigger.

The plant sale is May 20. We will have a good selection of different and interesting varieties; they just will be smallish plants. This weekend, I’ll dig some of the established plants out of my old herb garden.

The piglets have settled in; they will get electric fence training soon and we will let them loose in the pasture. I contacted the processor yesterday about getting onto the schedule for this fall and am waiting to hear back.

Getting people to respond to calls and inquiries has been a huge source of frustration lately. I filed an insurance claim for last week’s accident but have yet to hear from the insurance company. I am still fighting with another insurance company to get them to pay the last part of the claim from the husband’s accident in February 2022. I have made three phone calls in the past month to the copier company to try to get the fuser replaced in my copier. I have to deal with a place in Missoula. The first call was to see if the part was still available (yes) and to have a service ticket created. The second call was to see if there was any update on the service ticket. The third call was last Thursday, to find out if I could get a date on the calendar. I said to the husband that it was obvious that the guy on the phone was pulling stuff out of his armpit because he said, “Oh yes, we’ll be in Kalispell in May—wait, that’s Monday,” and when I said I would be home all day Monday, he said," “Okay, we’ll come fix it then.” Did I get a phone call yesterday? Nope. Did anyone show up to work on the copier? Nope.

I’d order the part and do it myself if I thought it was something I could tackle, but I’d rather have the machine serviced. Calling them again today is another item on the list.

I’m also at the place where I’m about ready to order a new industrial sewing machine. Used ones are rare in this part of the country. The ones I have been able to find need—at the least—a new motor. Some of them need new motors and tables and who knows what kinds of service and adjustments. The closest machines are in Spokane, and without someone to help me, these machines are too heavy to load into my car. I was discussing it with the husband yesterday morning and I commented that there was something to be said for the big brown truck of happiness pulling up to deliver a machine that was all ready to sew right out of the box.

[I am not an impulse buyer. This is both good and bad. It means I don’t spend money unnecessarily, but I also take forever to decide on bigger ticket items. The husband used to tell me that the new model year of vehicle would be out by the time I made a decision to buy the current year’s model.]

I’ve got it narrowed down to three machines, and I’ll probably knock another one off the list soon. The husband said he could make me a spot in the old garage for an industrial sewing machine and my industrial serger. He even installed new lights in that area. We’ll see. If a used machine doesn’t show up soon, I’ll go ahead and order one.