Ramblings of a rural(ish) geek

The absentee voter counting board showed up at the township hall to set up our space this afternoon. We are now six plus the chair, who will not actually be counting. The county suggested that the chairs be available to problemsolve/deal with challengers/observers. I don't think we'll get challengers or observers, because they have to remain sequestered with the AVBoard until the election closes as 8pm. We've got a nice big space, though. They moved the fire truck out of the twp hall garage, and we get to set up in there -- wide open space with 20 ft ceiling! very echo-y. I came home and got the stash of area rugs that we're currently not using to help with the sound a bit. Seems to be better now....

Originally, the clerk had scheduled four workers for the AV Board, but when she got to 900 absentee ballots in her office and the prospect of challengers, she added a couple more workers, just in case. As long as they don't do the Stupid Thing they did last time, we should have plenty of time. There are two brand new to AV Board workers, but the others of us have some experience. I do not want to be chairing any kind of election this time around - NM can have it.

the ffs! part is that the clerk had to ask two different scheduled workers to not come in on Election Day, as they were posting pictures of themselves playing games and eating out without a mask in sight. And not just once, but a couple of times a week. MI's COVID rates are climbing again, and none of the people in charge of the election (the clerk, the Election Chairs, or the AV Chair) wanted to take a chance of infecting other workers or voters. The clerk even asked the County Board of Elections if it was a valid response, and they said "absolutely. they're not guaranteed a position." So not only did the clerk have to find two more people for the Absentee Board, she had to find two more people to work. oy.

Somebody on a mailing list I read said that he didn't know about XYZ because he wasn't on FB. Dude, we talked about XYZ *on this list* three months ago, and it gets mentioned on a regular basis. But because he didn't notice it, the discussion must have been on FB. bwah?

"Liftgate service" for freight does no good if the pallet won't fit on the liftgate. So J and I moved the 24 solar panels. Twice (once from the truck to the front yard, and then again to a spot in the garage). The driver unloaded the panels from the pallet and slid them down to us (more work than he expected, but we're not allowed on the truck). That was Tuesday, and my shoulder is still a bit sore. And now the local building authorities say 'you can't do that yourself'. So J is now back to the supplier "you guaranteed that I'd get installation permits for this project. have at."

J is being such a teenager. again.

The blood drive scheduled for Tuesday afternoon was cancelled Tuesday morning. I was able to get into a blood drive one town over on Wednesday. They were understaffed, so it took longer than even the usual COVID-19 time to get through.

We will miss the Bridge Walk gathering next weekend. Some of the peeps we usually go with will still be going North for the weekend, but adding another couple to the mix would make the social distancing exponentially more difficult, and while seeing other people would be nice....

J and I went to GV on Saturday. It was a bit hot and sunny, but not bad for August. As expected, J was 'done' after a couple of hours. (worse than a kid sometimes....)

J's WFH order has been extended through at least November, but he really doesn't expect to go back into the office on regular basis until there's a vaccine, and maybe not then. But he was tired of working in the cold dark basement. So we moved my computer into the living room, and his into the den - now he gets to open the door for the cat.

Of course, now it's hot, and the cat doesn't want to do anything but sleep on the bed under the ceiling fan. :)

DB and I moved almost every piece of furniture in the living room -- the window bench and the corner shelf didn't get moved at all, a couple of cabinets got moved out of the room and back to the same spot, but we swapped out two large recliners for a smaller chair and a computer desk. One of the recliners is in the den, but the other one has to go downstairs.

I may have done a bit too much furniture moving - my back was really cranky (to the ragged edge of impingement!) yesterday. Started physio today, and I have some hope that we'll be able to stabilise/strengthen the shoulder enough that I can sleep on my side, and thus lower the baseline of spinal annoyance.

- still waiting on calls from imaging departments. The referrals are showing in my medrecords, so I suspect that they're just really behind.

- the rill is mostly in. the main structure is finished, the liner is in but not adhered, and the rock spillway is only about half done. But it's running, and the birdies and frogs approve. There seems to be a teensy leak in one of the basins -- I think the water is going around a fold in the liner. It's been very dry, and sunny and breezy, and the rill accelerates evaporation, so it's hard to tell how big the seep is.

- I finally finished weeding the flowerbed next to the forsythia in the front yard. My shoulder does not like weeding, and I can only do it for about 45 minutes a day. Unfortunately, that means I'm falling farther and farther behind, as the weeds have really started to take off now that the weather has gotten decent. I need to go weed this morning, as it's supposed to get warm this afternoon (and I've got a blood donation scheduled - don't like weeding after those).

- still no strawberries. Maybe tomorrow - there are some pink berries out there, but most of them are still tiny green nubs.

- there's been a skunk in the backyard for a couple of days. We make enough noise when we go out that he doesn't get spooked, but just scampers off. After presenting his rear to us, of course.

- I will not be going to the Annual Picnic. J is (of course) but I'm going to be working the election a week later, and I'm thinking that going 600 miles to hang out with people from all over a week before spending a day in close quarters with a different set of people is not a responsible choice.

- Band Camp at Interlochen has been cancelled. I may or may not get my tuition back (I may decide to let them keep part/all of it to cover their shortfall). Livingston Band officially cancelled their summer season two weeks ago. FCB cancelled their summer session in April (they're more structured than Livingston). (I got an honorarium from the FCB for helping with setup. It worked out to about a dollar an hour for this season. I'll just increase my fall donation by that amount - I don't do it for money or recognition. Although I do find it amusing when people ask me rather than the actual Equipment Manager about things. Fortunately, so does he.)

- I took the kids' car out yesterday for errands. The license plate/holder fell off when I closed the trunk. DB tells me that it's been doing that for a while, and he just never mentioned it. sigh. The mirror controls barely work - I wound up rolling the window down and shifting it manually, which I'm sure will not help.

- lots of people in line at the barbershops and bottle returns. Still people not wearing masks or following lane markers. Still holes in the distribution system, as evidenced by empty shelves. I can usually get the things I need, although it may take a couple of stops and some serendipity. Next week? Costco!