So Many Questions…

Jeff Powell
3 min readOct 18, 2024

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Photo by Ana Municio on Unsplash

I am filled with questions today, but I only have answers for a few of them. Regular readers might have similar queries…

  1. How’s Tinkerbelle? Answer: We’re not sure yet. Her next blood test is later this afternoon, and only then will we (perhaps) have a clue. She seems fine, but that was true months ago while her bone marrow was trying to kill her. I’ll report back next week.
  2. What’s up with the house? Weren’t you getting it checked for hazardous materials? Yes, that is in process. On Wednesday a tech came out and took something like 5 samples of drywall mud (to check for asbestos), 2 samples of some 1960 vintage floor tiles (linoleum, maybe?) and the glue holding them down to check for asbestos, 1 sample of a weird glue holding the entryway floor tile down (again, asbestos), 2 samples of tile from different places to check for lead in the glaze, and 1 sample of paint to check for lead. But I think he said there were 12 samples total and that only totals to 11, so I am probably missing something. Results should be back in about 10 business days, so we might know more next week at this time, or not. Dunno. Oh, and we couldn’t test the mortar in the cinderblock wall we are going to remove (again, for asbestos) because it is fully enclosed in drywall. We’ll test it after enough demolition has happened that it’s all exposed and we know what we are up against.
  3. What else is up with the house? We’re packing the downstairs like we’re moving. Well, to be honest, Anne has done most of the packing so far. We also have a shipping container arriving on the driveway next week to give us a place to move everything and get it out of the way while the work on the house gets going. That’s early, but if we have to do hazardous materials remediation we’ll want to get it done before the real construction starts. And if we have no hazardous materials, it gives us more time to pack and prepare. Also, we got a deal for ordering it earlier, so it kind of pays for itself in that regard.
  4. What’s going to happen with the BC Provincial election? I have no idea. I know what I want to happen, but other than my vote, my opinion really doesn’t matter. But whatever happens, it’s soon. We’ve had 6 weeks of campaigning and the election happens this coming Saturday. Unlike the USA where elections can go on for years (literally) they are blessedly quick up here.
  5. What’s going to happen with the US election? Once again, I have no idea. I have my vote and my opinion, but we’ve all gotta wait some time for that result.
  6. Where does all the time go? No, really. Where?
  7. What else is keeping you busy? The monthly email is ramping up again, and we’re getting organized for the annual holiday campaign to help neighbours in need. In addition to that, WordPress (the software program) is driving me crazy with some technical issues, and the organization that creates and maintains WordPress is doing insane things that are making me think it could be time to entirely rethink the software we use. And the packing. Can’t forget about the packing.
  8. Will we find indications of life on Europa? I dunno, but it’s gonna be 2030 before the Europa Clipper sends back any data to help us figure that out.
  9. Will I ever have these posts written in advance? Nope. Never. I am way too disorganized for that to happen.

Cheers!

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Jeff Powell
Jeff Powell

Written by Jeff Powell

Sculptor/Artist. Former programmer. Former volunteer firefighter. Former fencer. Weirdest resume on the planet, I suspect.