A pair of duhs need help...

I'm sorry today's post is so late. We've been looking into the cheapest possible way to make a staircase for the garden.

Perhaps somebody could help? The height from the ground to the top is around 1.3m (just over 50 inches). The width is around 6ft 3 in. It seems the cheapest option is to make something out of timber.

We're stumped!

Fun and games chez nous

I'm sorry I didn't post anything interesting today. We had a plumbing emergency. All the meters are in the basement and we never go there, but today I happened to pass by the door and heard a gushing noise. When I opened the door, I was hit by a strong jet of water, so I rushed upstairs to call Peter and ring a plumber.

Peter closed the main valve and I told the neighbours what had happened. Our plumber's wife, who's in charge of fielding his calls, can only be described as a witch (we had previous experience with her when the apartment was being modernized). I explained what was going on and she promised to ring me back as soon as possible. A good hour passed without any response from her, the husband or his sidekick didn't turn up, and nobody in the building had any water.

As luck will have it, a local plumber has a warehouse where he stores his equipment just down the road from us and the plumbers had just arrived to leave their van on their way home. I quickly went to them and explained our plight. They came, had a look, talked a lot in impenetrable French, welded the pipe, asked me to test our taps (faucets) and that was it. When I asked how much I owed them, they said they would send me a bill. All within half an hour.

I rang the witch and got the answering machine, so I left a message saying thank you, but everything was ok and we wouldn't need their services after all.

How's that for an exciting day, eh? Tomorrow we're installing a ceiling fan with the help of a friend who knows what he's doing. That's very good, because we don't have a clue.

Wish us luck. Considering the fact that I managed to steam one of my assets while cooking dinner last night and the burst pipe today, I think we're going to need it!

Priorities

Fragile children need some help.

An old friend sent me the following email. I'm sure you will remember her and will not hesitate to help.

Hi Regina!

I hope you remember me. I have been lurking on your new site, and I really like it. I am sending emails to all of my friends and contacts. We need your help.

The State of Illinois is trying to take away medical coverage for children with complex medical issues, like my Christopher. We have a waiver, and the program is limited to about 500 children at any one time. The State is broke, and they believe one of the ways to balance the budget is to cut off populations that they believe will not fight back.

We are asking for help, no matter your location, in fighting back. We have started a petition online and are asking that folks sign and then blog, tweet, facebook whatever to get more folks there. If you are resident of Illinois, we are asking that you also email, call or write your State Senators and Representatives. Our children's lives literally hang in the balance.

Little Christopher a few years ago

If I were forced to hospitalize or admit Christopher to a nursing home, not only would it cost about 8 times what this program does, he would most likely be dead in 3 to 6 months. He has no immune system. There are 500 children in the same situation.

I am posting a link to my blog. There is a widget at the top of the page to go sign the petition. I hope you can use your blog and/or contacts to help us out.

Keep up the great work on your blog! : ) Hugs!!!

Steph (DS Mama)


I signed the petition this morning, please help these children in Illinois. Head to Steph's site for that very important click...

Thank you.