BUSY BUSY

I am in the midst of preparation for the Bazaar. I have not only my things to get ready, but a few others as well, especially the bakers. The ladies I have are terrific bakers, but struggle with packaging for display. I want their things to show well and not look messy. Because of the limited space, items must be able to stack. That means lids of some sort. I purchased some things for them. They will pay be back out of profits (if there are any).

On top of all my own prep, which is going into overdrive, Management has decided to throw in a thorough inspection this Thursday. They added some things thus year. Usually all they are terribly concerned about is leaking water (they pay for the water), a working smoke detector, items cleared from the heaters and our ability to escape from a window in case of fire. I wish the architect had given thought to that when he placed things where they are. There is very little clear wall space and the apartment is too small to center the furniture – unless the backs of things were put to the middle.

They placed a heater under the window not designed to escape. So we are not supposed to have anything in front of either window. That takes care of more of our wall space. My living room is fine. The TV sits between the windows. The side windows are not a problem because I have the front window to get out. However, it would be a challenge to get out of any windows in my bedroom. When I set it up that way, I reasoned that all I had to do was knock over the bookcase, use it as a step stool and out I go. I think that is still true. Whether they will accept my reasoning in another issue. Also, nothing is to block the electrical panel. My bookcase is 1/4 inch too high. I would have to move the bookcase in my living room to keep that clear. That would be a problem – I can’t think of another place to put the bookcase. I don’t want to spend the money to get another one.

My oldest granddaughter has just begun to come by every other week to clean for me. She did a good job when she was here so I don't have to do as much. But still, when I work, things get spread everywhere. I have been designing Christmas cards. After I get one done I set it out to look at from time to time and then come back and add or change something, I end up going through 4-6 changes before I am satisfied. My sofa is covered, the table beside me is covered, and TV trays are covered. I have one tray set up for my paper cutter. This is when I miss a large table. Of course there is no room for any table in here and I am using the drawing board.

The natives here are always restless. I don't believe there is a way to make someone happy who is determined to be angry. I like the new maintenance man. He is tough and will take no guff. He was working on repairing the entrance from the garage to the main building. The walls along the way are seriously banged up. He is installing vinyl to protect the walls. In the process he mentioned that he was going to return all the carts people have dragged here from various area grocers. That's a great idea but it will greatly deplete our cart supply. I believe there are only four here that the housing authority has purchased and two of them had loose baskets on top and the baskets have been stolen. Go figure.

One of our regular complainers let him have it for even suggesting he would get rid of the stolen carts. "What will we do?" He blasted right back — We are not keeping stolen goods here even if someone with memory problems brought them here. Get used to it. I loved it. Our guy is a hard worker and not just maintaining things, but also actually improving this place. I love it. We now have cool automatic doors at the front. Insert a key and both doors open. It's great when your arms are full.

I look forward to whats next. I know he’s working on new carpeting for the public areas. What we have in most places is 16-17 years old. It shows it just like the rest of us.