Category: Life with Pratts

Say Goodnight, Irene

Hurricane Irene promises to cause us a lot of trouble here. I’ve been trying to line up some roof repairs and tree removal, and after this weekend it will probably be months before I can get the work done, because contractors will be busy dealing with the storm’s aftermath. I just hope a tree doesn’t come down on the house.

I have a summer tradition of taking Eric to a Boston Red Sox game at Fenway Park, and I have tickets for Sunday afternoon’s game, but because of the storm it’s been moved to 5 tomorrow. With any luck it will be over before Irene arrives.

Update: It’s Saturday, there’s a rain delay for the first game of the day, and from the way it’s coming down I’d be surprised if the second game is played. Even if it is held, I don’t know if I’m going to risk driving to Boston.

Update: I went outside to make sure the storm drain was clear, and there’s no way I’m driving into Boston, because there’s no doubt that Irene is here. I’m listening to the radio to see what Major League Baseball is going to do. If they say play ball, then I’m out 250 bucks.

Garage garbage

Spent most of the day with Eric, cleaning out the garage. It should have been a Spring job, but it’s done. We took everything out, including from the always interesting loft (looks like a mouse and/or a squirrel was up there), gave the place a thorough sweeping and shop-vac, threw out a lot of stuff, and got everything back in, nice and neat.

In the loft I found the kiddie-sized resin chair Eric used when he was little. He sat in it for a moment as a joke and said we could throw it out, but I said keep it, in case a family with small children wants it. A few minutes later, a new family in the neighborhood with two small children walked by, and I offered the chair to them. They were happy to take it, and the father put in it the wagon he was pulling. It was one of those moments, that Eric doesn’t always appreciate, when I was able to say, “See? I told you.”

Back inside, I’m playing with the Squeezebox Touch I got for half price on a special deal from Logitech. The software still needs a few fixes, but that’s always the way with Logitech, and I have no buyer remorse with this purchase.

When this old roof starts gettin’ me down…

A while ago I found a leak in the flashing around the chimney, and it’s gotten worse, so there’s no putting off finding a roofer to fix it. In the meantime, I’ve come up with this temporary workaround that reminds me of the funky idea I had when there was a leak in the basement a year ago last spring.

Shredding my past away

I got started on a major shredding project, getting rid of ancient bills, and of course my old, toy-quality shredder died. Most of the new models I looked at weren’t right for the space I have, then I found the Fellowes P-12C for $80 at BJ’s Warehouse.

Sorting old magazines and comic books takes a lot of time, because I end up reading and remembering, but I was surprised that old bank statements have something of the same effect on me. This is a summary of my checking and savings accounts in August, 1984.

The deposits included business travel reimbursements, because I didn’t have a company credit card. The savings account is interesting. I had less than $1500 (about $3200, adjusted for inflation) and on that I earned over $6 interest. My savings account is much more substantial now, but it doesn’t earn that much in a year, even unadjusted for inflation; but, as you can see, the gain in ’84 was offset by the monthly fee for the checking account.

Follow-up: The shredder died in 2019, having seen only occasional light use.