A Brand New Page
Hello, hello from Wacky House. I would like to thank my sexy smart husband for redesigning my blog. So sweet, so pretty, so unlike me and my surly self. Hope you enjoy it. We’re having a sunshine day here in Portland, can you dig it?
It’s supposed to be nice all week. About time. And the mushroom-infested bathroom at Wacky House? Did I already mention this? We have curly-edged yellowish mushrooms sprouting out from between the shower stall and the wall, creeping up and out from where the wall meets the floor. Nice. Water has been leaking inside the stall, apparently. No, you probably shouldn’t eat the mushrooms, they’re “isgusting,” as one of my friend’s kids says. Good news is that homeowners’ insurance is covering some of it. Bad news is we can’t use the shower and who knows when it’ll be fixed. This month? I hope. We do have a tub in the other bathroom so that’s cool. Creepage, seepage, too much water! So the sunshine, and the contractors, are a sight for sore eyes. And our neighbors are giving us shower privileges, which we do appreciate. Thank you, Wacky Neighbors! My clean hair thanks you. I cleaned their bathroom for them, in return. Give and take/take and give is a beautiful thing. Wouldn’t it be nice if the taxpayers of Oregon agreed? They do not.
PTA? Our school auction is coming up. I’ll write a list of fundraising tips (later) for your perusal. Cuz all we do here in Oregon “Taxes? We don’t pay no stinkin’ taxes!” State is fundraise, me and the rest of the Wacky Parents. It’s a pain in the ass and takes a ton of time and really? It’s not enough, no matter how much we kick ass at it. And really? I think we should all help pay for the schools. It all adds up, everyone contributing their part. I mean, isn’t that part of the beauty of America? A free education, especially for those who can’t afford to pay for it? Give us your poor, your tired, your stressed-out bitchy PTA moms who are sick of no school supplies, no decent salaries for teachers, no art, no music, no electives in the schools, unless the PTA and the principal have gone through hassle after hassle, fundraised til their neighbors and family members go running for shelter whenever they get hit up, again, applied for grant after grant and then voila! Two sessions of art, kids! Go for it! Only, there’s not room for all of you. Yeah, only a third of you. Sorry, again! Better luck next time.
We have no sales tax here, no decent property tax base. But we’re “cool,” we’re like, all free and independent and each and every one of us came out here on the Goddamn Oregon Trail and pulled ourselves up by our bootstraps and didn’t take help. And won’t give it. See what I mean? I’m surly. And bummed out.
, 
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I luv the new look. Makes me want to plant LOTS of flowers.
February 8th, 2006 | #
beautiful new look! sorry about the mushrooms…:(
February 9th, 2006 | #
Thank you! It is cheerful looking, all that purple. You know what I love the most about remodeling? Again? I never know how many men will be in my bathroom. Ha. Yesterday it was one in the bathroom, one in the office, one in the basement. All very nice. Poor guy who got stuck in the crawl space almost screamed when my cat rubbed up against his head. “No rats here, just mushrooms.”
February 9th, 2006 | #
Items found by contractors when replumbing under the house.
One dead rat.
One red foam football.
Large amounts of broken old coke bottles.
Bones. (The previous owner, turns out was a felon, but the bones were NOT human)
Noodles.
Noodles? Yes, pasta under our house, but no mushrooms.
February 9th, 2006 | #
Please take note: the mushrooms were not under our house. Oh no, that would be too tidy. The musrooms were fully in our living space. Fearlessly rearing their heads in the full light of the bathroom. (Shudder)
February 9th, 2006 | #
Dear Wacky Mommy,
re your PTA complaints–yes but you have no idea! Here in Africa, the kids are 70 to a classroom, NO school supplies, learning by rote if at all, and the poor overworked underpaid teacher hits them with a stick when they get the answer wrong.
So remember to fight for good education, cuz the lack of it is truly scary.
PS This was meant to be encouraging. Did it work?
February 14th, 2006 | #
We have a mere 29 kids in the class, so that is looking good compared to 70! Some teachers here still hit, but it’s usually with an object (not unlike a stick) when they get angry with the students. They’ll “accidentally” hit them in the head with a backpack, for instance. But it wasn’t a fist, so it doesn’t count? Violence is violence is violence. School shouldn’t be something you have to survive, you know? It should help you thrive. We do have school supplies but they don’t always get handed out to the kids who need them most. They get lorded over a lot, the poor kids.
What else is up in Africa?
February 14th, 2006 | #