Friday, not as planned

Peaceful scene early this morning 

The day was supposed to go like: breakfast of seedy bread and strawberries, shower, postcards, knitting, lunch, Friday Knitting Group, and so on, on-line meeting in the evening.

This didn't quite happen. In fact I was still in robe and jimjams when there was a ring at the door, large man with clipboard, contractor truck behind him. Hugh, his name was, ready to clear out and put a new grill over the stove duct at the street side.

This is a long running problem all over the development, everyone's stove exhaust duct being a perfect size for nesting, birds and squirrel love them. Warm from the stove indoors,  dry and cosy for their families.

But they get hopelessly clogged with nesting debris, these tenants being terrible housekeepers. This renders the stove exhaust inoperable, aside from being a diabolical liberty.

Gary has been going to clear it for, um, quite a while, allowing for the baby birds to fledge and take off, then forgetting. So I put in a work order and to my amazement, Hugh showed up. 

I never got my shower, in fact ended up outside, still in robe,  explaining the situation to Hugh, then having to keep running indoors,  switching on and off the stove fan while he diagnosed the issue. 

Then Gary came over, many serious consultations about manly tools. Then after Hugh found he didn't have the tools necessary to complete the job, Gary said fine, hold everything.

I was in charge of getting the info about the tool, and listening to Hugh's life story, while Gary showered and dashed off to shop, returning with the tool, now stored in my outside storage area, for neighborhood use.

Eventually the whole thing was done, the entire L shaped duct exposed from inside, Gary dashing off for drop cloths to throw over the stove while I moved the stuff on the counter.

I now have a good understanding of the mechanism of the duct, the best maintenance practice, the nasty bully Hugh had to deal with at work, the board asking him why he's doing the job he's paid for, and how nice Hugh's wife is, lovely to go home to.  I know where he lives, also where the, now fired, bully lives, and Hugh's theory that he's a big kid preferring negative attention to no attention. 

All in all, after Hugh, the site manager, who showed up to look at doors, why not, everyone else was there, including interested neighbors, finally departed, it was late afternoon and no postcards nor knitting group had happened. Nor shower, now scheduled for this evening, unless something else crops up. I had to collect and return the things Gary had forgotten, his jacket, drop cloth, various tools, usual post operative task 

Never a dull moment. It wasn't as planned, but it was certainly interesting, the most testosterone filled day.  Everyone went away happy. 

I have, aside from becoming a hearing aid evangelist, become an expert diagnostician. Hugh needs hearing aids. Bellowing speech, though very friendly, close attention to speakers' faces, inability to grasp what's said out of sight.  I'd be glad to set him up in my amateur practice..

Now I hope my online meeting goes without unplanned events.

Good word from e, whose comments you see in here, safe after the hurricane, power restored. Other friends too managed to dodge it. Still waiting to hear, as of Friday evening,  about Mary Moon, though. Vibes galore there.

Happy day everyone, stay ready for irruptions of all kinds!