Cordelia's Mom, Still

WHAT IS (AND IS NOT) LOVE?

Posted on August 12, 2017 by cordeliasmom2012

Hubby and I recently celebrated our 33rd anniversary – despite the stress surrounding events during my sabbatical (which is about to end, thank heavens!). It seems appropriate to re-publish this particular post at this time. May you all have the love and support of a good and faithful partner.

Print by Ruane Manning – see note at bottom of post

The scream reverberating from the next room at Big Meadows Lodge woke me from a sound sleep. Somehow I just knew that my then husband had something to do with that scream.

No, he was not a philanderer, but he was an alcoholic.

We were on Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park in Virginia to celebrate our first wedding anniversary. After a day of hiking, we had cleaned up and had a romantic dinner in the Lodge’s restaurant, gazing out the plate glass windows at the Blue Ridge Mountains. Returning to our room, my ex-to-be gave me a quick kiss and then returned to the Lodge’s bar to “pick up something for later.” I changed into my newly purchased peek-a-boo negligee (hey, I was only 20 years old!). When he hadn’t returned several hours later, I realized he…

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Posted in Re-Blogs, Relationships, That's Life | Tagged anniversary, love, marriage, Ruanne Manning, Shenandoah, Skyline Drive | 6 Comments

Hot Browsing

Posted on August 6, 2017 by cordeliasmom2012

I totally forgot this old post (hard to believe, I know). As I face a near future of no internet for several days, I will look fondly back on my early computer experiences. Enjoy this story – and be sure to click over and read Paul Curran’s story on Mark Bialczak’s site.

Cordelia's Mom, Still

Sometimes Paul Curran makes me laugh, and sometimes he reminds me of my own stories. Recently, he did both.

In his recent post on Mark Bialczak’s blog, Paul talked about his experience with porn sites. Like most of you, I was totally shocked [if you believe that, I have a bridge I can sell you] that Paul would go onto porn sites, but then, Paul is a man and men are pigs [as most women know, and accept].

Paul’s story reminded me of my own family’s very first computer. For years, we had fought against getting a computer, despite the kids coming home every other day and telling us that all their friends had them. This was back in the early 1980s when computers were not a necessity in every household.

Eventually, we gave in – and I became the computer guru in our house.

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Posted in Humor, Paul Curran, Re-Blogs, Relationships, That's Life | Tagged computer virus, computers, FBI virus, internet, porn, web surfing | 4 Comments

Well, at least the bathroom’s still pretty …

Posted on July 29, 2017 by cordeliasmom2012

Did you think we were done with construction posts? No such luck in my world. Enjoy your weekend, everyone!

Imagine sitting in your new, beautiful kitchen which had been renovated after the walls and ceiling were damaged by ice backup during the prior winter’s storms. Imagine yourself sipping your coffee and gazing around at the new walls and curtains. Imagine the view out the window into the back yard – it is summer, and the sun is shining.

Now imagine yourself looking up at the newly installed ceiling tiles.

WTF?!

Yes, that is a water mark on the new ceiling tiles. It rained over the weekend, and the roof is leaking AGAIN.

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I know you all recall my two weeks of household renovations- heaven knows I wrote enough posts about it (click here, here, and here – hint, hint).

Really, I thought we were done, except for minor things such as painting the window frames and putting up new curtains.

But apparently, Mother Nature had other plans.

The roof that was installed in 2013 leaked and was repaired on an emergency basis just last month. The new leak is in an area of the kitchen other than where the repair was done. Which means that we now need to have the entire kitchen roof torn off and reinstalled.

You will recall that the original roofing contractor has disappeared – won’t return calls, and his office has been closed. Which is probably just as well – I wouldn’t want that guy coming back to screw up the roof even further. Enough is enough.

My good client – the one who sent a crew out within an hour for the emergency repair last month – will come tomorrow to estimate the cost of replacing that section of the roof. I know it’s going to be expensive, but at least I’ll know it will be done right, I can count on my client to stand behind his warranty, and I’m pretty sure he’s not going anywhere.

Are you all ready for more Tales from the Dark Side of Home Ownership? Please join me in hoping that the upcoming roof replacement will be the last repair.

But as a homeowner, I somehow doubt that.

Anyone for wine?

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I love to hear from my readers. You may comment on this post, comment on my Facebook or Twitter pages, or email me at cordeliasmom2012@yahoo.com or notcordeliasmom@aol.com

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Image’s by Cordeia’s Mom.

Posted in Household Items, Re-Blogs, That's Life | Tagged frustration, home improvement, home ownership, houses, leaking roof, repairs, roof | 12 Comments

Tip-Toeing Back Into the Financial World

Posted on July 22, 2017 by cordeliasmom2012

For those you have wondered (’cause I know the world revolves around me), I have managed to stay debt light, having only the mortgage, the car lease and a couple of small loans taken out for the household renovations. – and those loans will be paid off within the next few months. In fact, I’ve managed to not use a credit card at all this year. Yay, me!

Cordelia's Mom, Still

It was nearly a year ago that I wrote my post, “Arising From the Ashes of Credit Card Debt.”

Sure, within a couple of years of declaring bankruptcy, I was able to get a furniture loan and a car loan, but credit cards were unattainable. Not that I’m a fan of credit cards, mind you, but sometimes it helps to have one. What if there’s a major expense (like the washer breaks or the dog gets sick [from eating my brand new cell phone, but that’s a whole ‘nother story]) and there’s not enough money in the checking account to cover it?

Before my bankruptcy, I had nearly every credit card that was ever offered (gee, I wonder why I never saw bankruptcy in my future?). Years later, I could understand why companies I stiffed in bankruptcy would now be reluctant to grant me a…

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