Of worms, slugs, a water meter and Cthulhu~~~~~

Hello Darklings,

Well I had hoped to get home in time to change into something vintage before going to the vintage fashion show but things took a different turn.  And I should have realize it because it's FRIDAY THE 13TH.

Brian was home at my Sister's house working from there and offered to watch Belladonna and Weiner Dog for us since my elderly babysitter was visiting family.

Well I got home and then went to ask if he could take care of the dogs for the evening, he said O.K. but then said that I better check my water meter.

I asked him why and he told me that when he was coming back earlier from walking the dogs and taking a break, both Bella and Weiner got excited and started barking at the water meter lid.

He went over to look and saw slugs and worms, slithering and wiggling out of the view how of the water meter lid and saw slimy mud slowly oozing through the view hole and seeping around the edge of the lid.

"Very disgusting and sort of creepy" he remarked---well I'd think it creepy too, so we both went over to look at it, and there they were, worms, slugs and I'm not sure what else,  I think a very small salamander, it looked like a worm with eyes. 

I walked over to my front porch where I keep the prong to lift the lid for both it and the sewer line lid, and Brian did the honors,  I was thinking to myself "Oh please don't let these be missionaries for Cthulhu".

Well it turned out that the Vault was filled with water, completely covering the meter with water, mud and slugs,  I shiver when I think of it.  That sort of chilly, wet, yucky type of shiver that's not cold but you feel disgusted type of shiver. 

With Brian babysitting the dogs, I went and called our Water Company's emergency line, a repair truck was there in 30 minutes---pretty fast when you think of it.

I was of course tense, thinking "Is this going to be a major problem? Is this going to be an easy or hard fix?  Am I going to have to call a plumber because something else needs to be done?  How long has this been leaking?   Is my Water Bill going to be high?   Is Cthulhu going to send one of its slithery tentacles out of that ooze and drag the poor man and any living creature nearby down into some morass of Hell?

You can see there are times when I worry -----  a lot.

No, the man pumped the water out, found the cut off, cut off the water, pumped some more, dug, pumped, dug, clamped, removed the old meter, pumped some more, installed a new coupler, installed a new meter, dug some more, pumped some more, tighten, pumped, tighten, pump, checked, checked again, went to where we have the front garden faucet, opened that valve, turned on the water in the vault, water comes through the faucet, he tightens some more, checks, checks again, is satisfied, goes to the water faucet that's flowing water, washes his hands, turns off the faucet, grins at me and says "You're in Business".

He explained to me that there had been, according to the computer a Meter Replacement service man out on Wednesday to replace the old meter because the meter reader noted that it was difficult to read the dials and put in a replacement order---but the Meter Service couldn't because he noted a problem with a coupling and put in for it to be done with plumbing work by someone higher up.

And any water overage would be removed since it was caused by the Water Company, not by house usage. 
I now know what Angels look like.

This fellow told me that it's a new division with our Water Company and its no problem for them to replace meters on the newer buildings like less than 20 years old, but my house and meter was, in this gentleman's opinion "antique" and remarked that once he cleans it up, he's keeping it as an interesting museum piece.

Then he apologized about the house being antique, but one of the beautiful graceful houses that one rarely sees now a days.   I gave him my card and said for him to bring his grandchildren by for Halloween,  and he said he would. 

So for now Cthulhu is kept at bay and will not rise---- at least not in my neighborhood.

Later Darklings

Ghosts and Blood~~~~

A Ghost Walk and Blood, Darklings???




Well Doyle has surprised me, with not one but two, yes, two ghostly events and the Oktoberfest.



He managed to book a cabin for two different weekends at the Marble Quarry RV Park just a 10 minute walk from Columbia State Historic Park. He did this months in advance knowing how quickly things can get booked.



So somehow we will manage to squeeze in an Oktoberfest, a Columbia Ghost Walk Oct 13 & 14, and a paranormal Urban legends weekends for October, and I have to make arrangements to get off on Fridays and I can take little Belladonna with us, as the Marble Quarry RV park permits pets but with a small fee of $5.00 a night, well worth it.



I am looking forward to it as it will make October and Fall so enticing and enchanting in a ghostly way. Already my bags are open and being packed bit by bit, with several warm sweaters for Belladonna.



I was relaxing last night with a glass of Zinfandel from the D’art winery and it’s rather good, all just right, the fire was burning in the fireplace, I was so glad to have one the first things worked on was the fireplace and it’s chimney, redid the firebox and ran a fireproof flue up the chimney to reinforce it and improve it’s drawing capabilities, the comfortable chair and foot stool, the fireplace, the zinfandel, Doyle reading, the CD disc of Angel Romero on the guitar playing on the stereo on a Fall evening, Belladonna napping on my lap occasionally uttering sighs of contentment.



So different from the hecticness of the day, I had a doctor’s appointment and she wasn’t going to waste a single minute of it, we talked over medications, diet and exercise, and she scheduled me for a mammogram, lab work which included blood plus several shots that I needed Tetanus, Whooping Cough, Shingles vaccine, Flu shot will be next week as well as a bone density scan….ahhh the travails of getting older and becoming and Elder/Elderly Goth.



But it wasn’t without some amusement, I was having blood drawn by a young man who loves his job and understands blood.



He saw it flow very nicely and remarked “You must drink a lot of water, your blood is flowing beautifully and cleanly” I told him I did drink a lot of water to keep hydrated but I had been concerned about the availability of my veins.



He said “Your veins are very small but well formed and plump, again the water. We have people come in and they could have nice large veins but they hardly drink any water and the blood does not flow very well, it keeps clotting or moving like sludge, so I have to advise them to drink a lot of water. The Elderly are notorious for not drinking enough water, they are so afraid of bladder accidents, but if they would drink a good amount of water at least two or three weeks before a lab test then it helps us and it plumbs up the veins. We have to be careful on the needle size, with small veins and for the elderly I like to use the smallest needle, it hurts less, and with being hydrated it hurts less when I inject the needle to draw the blood. The color is very good too.”



I turned and looked at him, smiled and said “Thank you, Count Dracula”, he smiled and blushed a little and said “I usually work nights but they were short handed today.” And with a deft flick of the wrist he put a Band-Aid where he had removed my blood. “Keep drinking that water.” He said as I left and I assured him I would.



So water helps plump up the veins and the blood so it flows through our veins better. I was not aware of that, so both water and blood is the life, I contemplated that as I idly stared into my glass of Zinfandel, how vital to our lives, and how easily we waste it.



With that thought I decided that I would look into the best way to irrigate my garden with the least amount of wasted water. About blood? I am not a good candidate for a blood drive, but I can donate to it. And with that thought in mind I relaxed as Belladonna shifted in my lap to get more comfortable and Doyle remarked about an article he read in the paper.



Later Darklings