Book Review time

Psst...guess what? 

I had the chance to join the BlogHer Book Club.  

My review of the book "A Good Hard Look" is up over here!

Update on the Craziness

We discovered Saturday that the car didn't just break on it's own...it broke when it collided with the driver's side rear tire on our jeep.  Since it's been over a week, they won't do an accident report, only an incident report.  Our only recourse, except our own insurance, is to find out who owned the car and sue them.  Yay.  The police officer did tow the car, so at least it's no longer causing problems getting in and out of our driveway.

The Heroin House drama continues.  The renters are from another country, and at least one is being deported.  We lock our house and cars and set our alarm now and try not to stare when we go out front.  They've recently moved some furniture out of the house.  I hope they are truly moving, and not just moving product!

Military needs

Earlier this week, the husband had to go to Walter Reed for a medical appointment and I decided to ride along.  This isn't the first time we've had to go there, but this time was a bit more bittersweet than the last.  As we were winding our way through the crazy corridors trying to locate the correct office, all around were people packing up offices, searching for boxes, talking about moving schedules.  The next time we have to go for a special medical appointment, we'll be heading to Bethesda instead.  It's amazing to think about the legacy of that building, and of the history that has been contained within it's walls.

The military medical system is a difficult system to use.  The logistics of doctors, nurses, and technicians relocating every few years guarantees that your care will be routinely handled by a different person, and sometimes it affects the consistency of care you receive.  In recent years, the military health system has come under greater scrutiny, and Walter Reed was at the center of that scrutiny. Changes were made, and are still being made.  I'm hopeful that these changes bring about a greater level of care for our wounded soldiers. I appreciate the many people who work within this system daily, trying to provide the needed services for those who have sacrificed for their fellow man.

Sometimes it's hard to see what the members of America's military do to protect us here at home.  We hear about them fighting the war overseas and we hear people's opinion on those wars. We hear about the casualties and the bad things that happen.  And occasionally we hear about the good things they are doing over there. And then those men and women come home, hopefully safely, and try to live their everyday lives.  Many of those serving overseas are members of the Guard or Reserves.  The military is not their normal life, and no matter how they serve, normal life has continued while they were away.  They have to learn to live a life that has changed.  They may not bear physical wounds, but anyone that has deployed to a war zone will tell you that they have a new reality when they return home.  Some of them bear scars that no one will ever see.

Our country struggles to handle these wounded veterans.  The system wants to point fingers and cover up blame.  Our elected officials worry more about the next election than the do the quality of life for our military members and their families.  Sure, it's nice to attend Easter egg hunts and ballgames and concerts.  And those events make great photo ops.  But what our service members need is care.  They need to know that they will receive their pay on time.  They need to know that they will receive the best medical treatments available, both for them and their families.  They need to know that the equipment and buildings they use are built to the highest standard, not the lowest.  They need to know that the retirement benefits they've been counting on will be there when they retire.

Where I make up new seasons

It's beautiful here right now...sort of like Indian Fall in the middle of August (what?  That isn't a real thing?  We have Indian Summer in the fall, why can't we have Indian Fall in the Summer?)  Temps in the low 80's with no humidity.  Lows at night in the high 60's/low 70's.  It's like a little blessing in the middle of all the heat we've been living through. I plan on enjoying it for all it's glory, until the next heat wave crushes us.  Probably in September :)

Strolling through the craziness...

Around 3 am on Friday morning, I woke from a deep sleep to the sound of metal clanging along blacktop.  I jumped out of bed to look out the window, and see someone parked next to our Jeep on the road, getting out and walking around.  I tell my husband that it looks like someone is messing with our car.

He jumps out of bed, throws on some shorts and runs out front to see what is going on.  He comes in a few minutes later to get a flashlight.  The guy was leaving his friends house in our development when his car broke...the front tire is rubbing against the wheel well, and he destroyed his transmission.  In the midst of this, his beer spilled all over him and his car.  I'm sure it wasn't his first or only.  My husband tries to help him move the car out of the middle of the road, but drunk guy isn't really cooperating, and keeps refusing to call a tow truck.  Around 3:45 we give up on him and try to go back to bed.

Friday afternoon, the neighbor comes out to tell us that he helped push the guys car off the street.  Which is nice, except it's perfectly lined up with our driveway now, and makes getting in and out of our driveway difficult.  He also told us that a major drug bust occurred in the rental house located diagonally from us.  The tenants have lived there for a month...we live in a nice development.

On Saturday, Monster and I had a little stroll through the woods.  Well, actually, it was a leave no trace hike with his cub scout pack.  We took the short trail, and 3 miles later we finally were hot and thirsty and ready to go.  But first, Monster and I had to take a visit to the nature center.  I loved the displays in there, but these two were my favorites.

After that, we went to our local orchard for the annual festival, enjoyed some free peach ice cream and a hay ride.  My mil invited the kids over to swim, so I took Monster home to get his bathing suit.  As I pulled into my drive, there was a police officer parked behind the car and in front of the drug bust house.  I did a few things in the yard while he ran inside, then had a discussion with the officer about the car.  Unfortunately, they can't tow it, but can only continue to ticket it for being parked the wrong direction.  As I was leaving, my mom pulled up and joined me.  We were almost out of the development when I realized I had left my phone on the bumper of my car.  I turned around to go home and prayed that it wasn't destroyed.  I couldn't find it.  We finally found it where I had turned around, and the screen was shattered.  I was sick...I literally thought I would throw up. My mom took Monster over to swim, and I googled trying to figure out what my options were.

I stayed home Sunday and finished rearranging and cleaning my craft area.  (more to come on this!) I needed to soothe my nerves.

On Monday, we drove the hour north to the nearest Apple Store, and the awesome Genius offered me a one time replacement on my phone for free.  I wanted to hug him!

The car is still sitting there, and the drug bust house is still occupied, now with a new member and a pit bull...oh yay!  Hopefully I don't have another weekend like that anytime soon!