North Carolina Trip Sidetracked

              The temperatures are turning colder again. In the next few days it is supposed to get into the low 20’s and high teens. Even though I complain about the cold so, with what is happening in the Northeast, I’m keeping pretty quiet!

The North Carolina trip fell through. The movers called Billy on Saturday morning saying they would be at Leroy’s right around 3:30 p.m. Supposedly the movers contacted Leroy days earlier to contact us which he never did. They will be on their own now moving stuff around.

I don’t like posting pictures of other peoples homes when the interiors are such a mess. The move to get this instrument out of Leroy’s front room is very involved in the amount of stuff to be moved and shifted around.  

In a way I’m kind of glad things turned out the way they did, saving me two days on the road.

Billy called me Saturday night. It took the movers some three hours to do the move and it all went well. The only “rough time” was when the instrument had to be tipped; the top of it caught on the huge, ugly church light hanging from the cathedral ceiling. It swung a bit but stayed put. It could easily kill if it landed on top of a person. God only knows how well it is installed. This light fixture is so out of scale for Leroy’s house, but he loves it. It uses scores of light bulbs which are installed behind heavy green slag glass. Usually at any given time at least half the bulbs are burned out. Even under favorable conditions it emits little light. If you need to see any kind of detail on Leroy’s stuff in this room you need either a flashlight, or a halogen work light.

The movers drove from Leroy’s to Lake City, FL where they stopped for some sleep. They were at Billy’s and had the instrument safely unloaded in the early afternoon.

I’ll be leaving the house now around 4:30 a.m. Thursday for Billy’s. If this cold keeps up I doubt I’ll wear the Utilikilt much on the journey. I’m already looking forward to my omlette at Ann’s in Ozark, AL.

My cat sitter just picked up the keys. He is so good I don’t have to tell him much anymore, he just takes over. I warned him that I would be draining the water heater, so there would not be any hot water. I’m not going to risk it freezing up. I was lucky the last time…..

Stumpy has been driving me crazy with wanting in and out of the house. It is too cold to have the back door propped open for him. I have lost count how many times he has climbed in and out of the bathroom window today. I was able to get this picture of him clawing at the screen. Those claws of his can really catch. It seems the whole side of the house shakes when he gets going!

I got to the Y for the first time in ages yesterday. Even though I’m feeling better, the constant aggravation of the dry cough really does me in. It should last for another week or two if my past experience is any kind of ruler.