ON THE ROAD AGAIN

I'm getting ready to leave for one night in an absolutely charming little river town up north. Usually, I head there to testify in court. This time, I have to spend the night in this little town and then head out tomorrow morning to drive further north to a prison to evaluate an inmate.

The hotel is quite charming, modern and comfortable, but decorated with very good reproductions of yesteryear. Beds are comfortable, plumbing works well, electricity works well, continental breakfast is actually tasty, hotel staff are polite and helpful. The lady who cooks the breakfast is a white haired lady in her 70's and I've carefully evaluated her, over multiple stays at the hotel, and feel comfortable eating the food she cooks.

The gentleman I'm evaluating is actually a "southern regions" client, but he's been placed in a northern prison. I cover the southern region and am supposed to evaluate any of the men who were convicted in one of the southern counties. This happens a lot and it's fine. I am supposed to have to travel the entire state to evaluate "southern region" inmates no matter where they are living.

Unfortunately, because we are dreadfully short staffed, very often I have to evaluate "northern region" inmates where ever they are housed. The bad part of that is that I then have to testify in the northern county where they were originally convicted. Some of the northern counties are fine for testimony. But, invariably inmates who were convicted in "northern region counties" are much less pleasant than "southern region" inmates.

For example, I have repeatedly had to evaluate men convicted in the little county where I am headed today. Any of the men I have evaluated and recommended for commitment from this county are invariably profoundly behavior disordered and perverse. I refuse to eat anything in any restaurant in this little town because of one of the men I evaluated. I carry my own food in the form of fresh veggies, fresh fruit, and frozen "Smart Ones" meals rather than eat from their restaurants. I even carry a case of canned diet soda in the car. I use the excuse that I need to keep my insulin refrigerated (which is true) and there's no use wasting the space in the cooler. The man who caused this reaction was working in a fast food restaurant in this little town (while he was on parole). He would masturbate into soda cups and then fill the cups with ice and soda. Then, he'd watch the women he served those sodas drink them. This sexually excited him. And, I swore off eating in restaurants in that town. So, except for breakfast at the hotel, I eat food brought from home when in this little town.

Another man I evaluated and had to testify on from that town, would masturbate to the PBS station when it provided coverage of health concerns for very poor African girls who became pregnant in their early teen (12 and 13) and then were permanently damaged physically during the birth process. Somehow, he found that sexually arousing.

Sometimes, it's like living in a schizophrenic world. I live my life with Eric and the animals in a quiet little peaceful insular community of tidy lawns and well maintained houses. I stay, for the most part, at acceptable hotels with clean rooms and good service. Every now and then, I stay at really charmingly elegant little hotels with clean rooms and good services. At the same time, I'm dealing with people who scare me so much I am afraid to eat food in restaurants.

PASSWORD: Reset

Eric came home from work and fixed the computer. Of course, this took hours. He called AT&T from work. They started working on it. Eventually, he had to leave work, come home and contact them again to get the thing reset to something that has meaning to me and that I can remember and use. This, of course, took hours. In order to do anything, those people have to know my DOB, my favorite actor, my favorite hobby, my favorite superhero as a child, etc. ad infinitum. Plus, they have to have some made up four digit #. I have to store all these things in a My Documents file because I just make them up and of course won't remember any of them. I didn't have a favorite superhero as a child. I didn't even know there were superheros as a child. I can't remember the names of any of my teachers as a child. Hell, I can remember few of the names of the professors in my PhD program. I do know my birthday. I have a zillion favorite actors. I have few hobbies. And, what the Hell business is it of AT & T anyway?

PASSWORDS: I hate passwords!!!

The email program on my computer is demanding a username and a password before it will permit me to use my email. It does this every now and again throughout the year. I don't know why it does this. I don't even understand why I have to have a password to my email program given that my computer is in my house and the only people with access to it is Eric and me. And, Eric is the Administrator because I don't know anything about computers except how to type on them.

So, he set the password. And, he is very security conscious and trying to do what he thinks is best. The problem is I think he has some germanic blood in him and he always insists on making everything too perfect and too complicated. So, the password is so complicated that even with it typed out on a piece of paper and hidden away so I can at least "remember" it with prompts, I can't get it typed in correctly even with it typed on a piece of paper in front of me. I've been trying to gain access to my email since 7 AM and it is now 9:22. I depend on email to do my job. That's the way my bosses and colleagues contact me, give me directions, communicate with me.

Of course, I want the password changed to something I can work. Better yet, I'd like to be rid of the password. It keeps no one out of my computer except me. And, my inability to use the password he set up hurts his feelings, because he thinks he did the very best job possible. My desire to change it or better yet completely get rid of it upsets him.

All I want is for my computer to work and for me to be able to have immediate access to its function. When I can't have access to my email, I cannot do my job.

ERIC'S CHERRY PIE

Eric fancies himself to be a good cook. Most of what he cooks is much too spicy for my taste. He however makes a world class #1 Cherry Pie. They are packed full of cherries and bubbling through the top. I think he does an egg wash on the top crust and then dusts it with a little sugar and a little cinnamon which makes the top glisten and shine. Of course, I am diabetic and need to stay away from his cherry pies, but people love receiving them as gifts. And, in truth, I love a slice of his cherry pie with really good vanilla ice cream. I just should not eat it. When I do, it is a true guilty pleasure.

BEAGLE BURRITO

Savvy Jo is 17 and has difficulty with the cold. It's been dreadfully cold here even into the middle of may. She's had breakfast in bed and is resting under one of her favorite blankets. She likes to have a mid morning snack so she's stashed a few pieces of breakfast for snacking on a little later.

MORE OF THE KITCHEN PROJECT

Pictures of the new long awaited refrigerator/freezer. Eric likes it because when you open the doors, it feels to him like he can literally walk in it. I like the freezer section.

It's already a cluttered mess with family photos and such. One photo is of Eric's niece Jen, her husband Ryan and their son Kaden. Another photo is of Eric's niece Lori, her husband Brian, and their son/daughter who was due Saturday but is taking his/her own good time about joining the outside world. Maybe soon Hopefully!

FLOWERS IN THE GARDEN

Eric's building very strong trellis' for the four new Wisteria plants we put in this year. Meanwhile, here's some photos of what bloomed this spring.

KITCHEN PROJECT

We are finally redoing the kitchen and it is desperately needed. Eric had this house built in 1992. It's a tiny house for one and then I moved in ten years ago with four dogs, three cats, and a house full of furniture. I should not say this is a tiny house built for one. It's a lovely small house built on a cul de sac which literally is a small insular enclave-quiet and protected from the hustle and bustle of the city surrounding it. There are 18 of these houses on this cul de sac. It's quite dramatically different from the neighborhood around it. The truth of the matter is that there have been families who reared four children in these houses. I have to admit that has always amazed me. I'm never quite sure where they put them. I think the truth is that Eric and I simply have too much stuff-----way too much stuff. Most of the children are now grown and return with the grandchildren. Most of the neighbors are retired and elderly and spend their days working on their yards. It's a quiet neighborhood and well groomed yards and well maintained homes.

During the house building phase (before my time) Eric and the builders had a number of differences. They won some of those differences and he won some. A major bone of contention was a pantry that the builders put standard in every house. Eric did not want it because they put the pantry the only reasonable place for the refrigerator to go. He lost. The pantry was installed. It has been a major source of aggravation since he moved in. He had this huge refrigerator (very nice), but because of the pantry placement it made it impossible to get the refrigerator doors wide open to clean the refrigerator or find food stored in the back of the refrigerator. Major hassel. I am not prone to cleaning refrigerators anyway and this made it even worse. So, the pantry will be leaving.

My major complaint about the kitchen is that it does not "function" well. It's a big kitchen, but every time both of us are in the kitchen we are bumping into each other, falling over each other, etc. There needs to be separate work areas. And, there will be before the summer is over.

About a year or so ago, we had the new range and microwave installed. The new refrigerator was delivered last Friday. The new dishwasher was installed yesterday. Scott, the kitchen remodeler was here yesterday to measure for new cabinets and countertops. The cabinets and crown molding that goes around the top of the cabinets must be ordered and that takes about three weeks for delivery. Meanwhile, I need to order the undercounter ice maker. We don't really need that and it's a terribly expensive luxury that Eric WANTS. The new refrigerator makes ice lickety split and makes it so fast that we can't keep up with using it.

Will be posting pictures as the renovation progresss. It's going to be a mess. Thankfully, all the plumbing and electricity works. We are going to have some additional electrical sockets added and lights put in under all the wall cabinets, but there will not be a lot of electrical or plumbing work required. We are both very eager to have the kitchen completed. Eric's been dreaming and planning for this kitchen renovation since he bought the house in 1992. I've only lived here since 2001, but I've been dreaming and planning since I moved in. Unfortunately, it's going to take many weeks.