Leigh's Views

I’m a firm believer in the saying ‘there’s no such thing as failure’. Failure is only an opportunity for growth and learning. However, I’m beginning to wonder about that. I have this neighbor who’s been working on this project for months. Basically he’s doing the proverbial square peg in a round hole thing. He’s got an old machine and is trying to put a new part designed for a different machine onto it. No matter what he does, it doesn’t work. He’s asked everyone in the neighborhood for ideas about how to make the 2 pieces fit together. Everyone says the same thing – get a new machine. He asked me to contact the manufactures of both the machine and the part since he doesn’t have internet access. I had a feeling they would say it wasn’t possible but I never turn down a request for help. While both replies said in no uncertain terms that what he was trying to do couldn’t be done, one said it was dangerous. It went on to add something to the effect of risking life-threatening injury b...

My house had no insulation when I bought it. Not sure why, seems like a basic essential item to put into a house when one constructs one but whatever. Thus, for several months, I’ve been debating on the best way to go about solving the problem. After a lot of thought, I made the decision to turn the attic into usable space and insulate up there at the same time. Win-Win. Great, I find a contractor, he begins the job. Problem is he didn’t finish the job. The attic is finished, it looks great and is the most comfortable part of the house now. However, the guy didn’t put in the new stairs however he did rip out the old ones. Nor did he put in the new door or fill in the hole in the ceiling between the two floors (which, by the way, he made larger in order to do the job). Thus, I have an attic I can’t get into without a ladder. And as an added bonus, I have an echo chamber. You see, with the giant hole in the hallway ceiling leading up to the attic, when you walk through that part of t...

Have you ever ended up in what felt like a comedy of errors? I was talking to a friend the other day and she was complaining about how she and her husband just can’t seem to communicate anymore. She went on to tell me about what happened on Saturday morning. He was sitting there watching TV, she told him she was going to the grocery store. No acknowledgement whatsoever. She returns from the store to find him not home. Mildly curious about what was up with that, she debated if she should call him or not. In the end, she decided it would seem like she was being a nagging wife if she did. Thus, she let it be. Sometime later, he returns with a ton of stuff from the store. Complaining all the while about it being her job to shop, next time she should give him a list, etc. She had no idea what he was babbling about. Turns out, he, for whatever reason, had thought she had wanted him to go to the store. And he wasn’t sure where she’d gone or why. Yikes, major miscues there. She then goes o...

So, I had this weird space in my home and I couldn’t figure out what to do with it. Finally, I decided to slap some shelves in there and make it extra storage. Since putting up shelves is easier with 4 hands than 2, I asked a friend to come over. She, having nothing better to, happily agreed. In no time at all, we got the shelves in and I started pulling out the storage bins from the closet. I had things in there which I was going to put on my new shelves. My friend began to open the bins to help me arrange things. “Uhm, are you getting ready for the zombie apocalypse or do you know something about the state of the economy I don’t?” She asked as she turned to me with several bottle of rubbing alcohol and hydrogen peroxide in her hands. Okay, I know, I know. I like a good deal. The dollar store had this stuff on sale one day 4 for $1. Awesome. I probably got a few too many. However, I do have some rational for having so much on hand. If I get a major cut, I don’t want to be walking bl...

Over the weekend a bunch of my girlfriends and I met up for a girls night out. One friend, who is never late, was the last to arrive. She made her apologies then made a statement to the effect of where’s the darn waitress because she needed a stiff cocktail. This raised more than a few eyebrows around the table since she’s famous for being a teetotaler. After we’d settled in a bit she explained. She and her husband had decided to do a project around the house. Since he worked all day, he asked her to arrange for contractors to come and give estimates. Like she was just sitting around all day eating bon-bons and not running a part-time business from home. Fine, she does this, they discuss the pros/cons of each, pick a contractor. She calls the chosen one, arranges for the work to be done. Then her husband gets home from work and gets all upset because it wasn’t the right time to be jumping into a project, something else was a bigger priority, blah, blah, blah. She ends her litany with...

A friend of mine was sick and I offered to bring dinner over. They said sure if I would stay for a movie as well. As I had nothing better to do, I agreed. Unfortunately, it was a superhero movie on TV. Not my favorite genre, plus all of those commercials. But, hey, my friend wasn’t feeling well. An ad comes on for a local store. This store is rather famous for their really, really bad ads. My friend makes a comment about how the new person in the ad isn’t very good. I reply, “Hey at least she’s cuter than the last guy!” My friend turns a bit in the chair and gives me this look, then rolls their eyes. A bit later, one of the local weather guys comes on to give a preview for the late news. As usual, this guy is stumbling over his words, saying ‘uhm’ every other word and looking nervous. My friend states, “Come on, there’s nothing good you can say about this guy.” I smile and reply, “He just needs a job more suited to him. He’d make a perfect leprechaun. Can’t you just see him in a cute...