These days, we really don’t have to deal with much adversity. I’m the type that when something goes wrong, the world is falling apart. I think it’s because for so many years, I lived paycheck to paycheck and if the car had a problem, or the house had an unexpected problem, I had no idea how I was going to fix it. Vince is usually calm (except when the mail lady brings me packages). Usually when something goes wrong, whether it’s big or small, this conversation happens:
Me: What are we going to do?
Vince: We’ll fix it!
Me: What if it can’t be fixed?
Vince: Everything can be fixed.
I know . . not EVERYTHING can be fixed but I do appreciate his calming optimism.
The people who come out and mark lines were supposed to be here . . the fence guy told us two weeks ago they had been called. They came late yesterday evening and we didn’t even think they were coming because it was so late and the fence builders were going to be here at 7 a.m. today. When I went out with Oscar about dusk, I saw that they had been here. But . . they didn’t mark the lines we most needed to be marked – where all the lines come into the house right in that tight spot where the guys were going to have to be digging.
Vince called the digging people, which I think is a national company, but we didn’t have the ticket number because the fence people had made the initial call. For some reason, they couldn’t look it up under our name or address. The lady did tell Vince that if it was their mistake, they’d be back within two hours (this morning) and fix it. Vince wrote the fence guy and he said “We’ll have to work around it because they either don’t come back or they take forever to come back.” The fence guy did call them though because he had the ticket number.
You can see where the grass is cut differently. To the right is the neighbor’s. To the left is our property. They mostly marked all those lines on the neighbor’s property, right up to his shop building.
On our property, they mostly marked along the property line, which is where most people put fences . . but .. not us, so we can’t fault the marking people. The fence guy said they did tell them they needed ALL lines marked because the fence wasn’t going along property lines but . . who knows where the disconnect happened.
The fence crew got here right on time at 7 a.m. and before 8, the marking people were back. It was a super nice guy and even marked where the line goes from the solar panels to the electric box, which other marking guys had said “That’s YOUR line . . we can’t market it.”
Then, their little digging gizmo the fence guy was using to dig for the posts – I don’t think it’s a skid steer and I don’t think it’s a backhoe but it has an auger thing on the front and it’s zipping through the rocks . . sprang a hydraulic leak. They thought they could fix it. Last time I was outside, they were all working on it but I haven’t heard any noise in a while.
And, it’s supposed to rain and looks like it could start any minute. We are so desperate for rain . . I’ll be happier to get rain than I will go get the fence posts in today.
We will get a fence . . it just may be a few days later than we had expected.
vivoaks says
It’s a good thing you don’t stress about the time-line. Things happen and having to delay a day or two can drive some people nuts. Good thing you’re not one of those people! (At least as far as the fence goes…I don’t know you well enough to know about anything else! 🙂
judy.blog@gmail.com says
I try not to stress – especially over things I cannot change and even more especially over things that I understand why things happen the way they happen. I’ve mellowed in my old age. 🙂
Paula Nordt says
We are desperate for rain, also. We have had a couple of 5 minute showers the last three weeks, and the forecast looks good for the end of the week. But who knows. We’ve had 90% chance of rain forecast and got zilch! Fingers crossed for both of us.
judy.blog@gmail.com says
I hope we both get some. So far, it’s looked like rain all day and never rained. Great for the fence building . . not so great for the rest of the area. There’s still a good chance for us.
Christina says
There’s an old saying here, “Keep Calm and Carry On” , except I can never apply it when it comes to anything electrical, it drives me nuts I can’t fix it, seriously thinking of taking an electrical course! Here in the UK the rain has come and sadly for so many so has flash flooding, NOW that’s my worse nightmare. Thank the Lord we are high up but I do feel sorry for those under water, all I have is broken plants as the rain came down like stair rods.
judy.blog@gmail.com says
We’re lucky here to have the same electricians that wired the house when it was built that have been out to do the work we needed. More expensive than if Vince could do it but we feel much safer with them doing it (and it gets finished!).