Barbara Carter

Americana Finnmark has lost another resident.

She may not have been well known- she never served on the Board.

She was a very private person- some might say eccentric.

But she was a friend.

I met Barbara Carter when I was the Treasurer on the Board of Directors.

I barely knew her, but I welcomed her input.

Over time we developed a telephone friendship.

She very seldom left her condo- I invited her to mine do go over budget details or other concerns but she insisted on discussing a variety of subjects on the phone.

Over the years we would talk about the danger of mold in the laundry room, the old water pipes, the dangers of using those cloth fabric softner sheets in the dryer.

But perhaps are best conversations were about the movie--"Soylent Green".

It came up in casual comversation and I had mentioned that it was one of my favorites.
Much to my surprise- it was also one of her favorites.

When we talked about the various going ons in the community. our conversation would eventually drift to a discussion of the government and the movie Soylent Green.

She had an interesting outlook on life- she was very private never talked about her life- and I knew never to ask.

If I called her- and she was not home- I would leave a message. Just once.
I knew not to call again- she would call at her convience.

Despite the distance in our friendship- never meeting in person except at a budget meeting or Board meeting- we stayed in touch for a number of years.

I last talked to her in February- she had called me about the water pipes and was wondering if the Board would ever replace them all or continue to do so in a piecemeal fashion.
I do not know what prompted the topic-but by the time our conversation was over we were back on the subject of Soylent Green.

That was the last conversation I had with Barbara- Heidi called me the other day to inform me of Barbaras passing.

I will miss her- even though I had not seen her in about a year-I looked forward to our conversations.

In her own private way Barbara Carter left this world.

I will miss her.

Is it Spring yet?

I finally dug my car out of its winter coat.

Started the engine-- perfect- it started right up.

Now- where should I go--
I had ordered some groceries from Peapod- but I had to get out and drive.

The parking lot was somewhat cleared but it was drivable-- I decided to go to the Giant.

I walked into the store, browsed- I did not really need anything and yet I wanted something.

Then I saw exactly what I wanted- melons-- a variety summer melons-

I purchased a honeydew and a small watermelon.

The minute I walked in my door I started to slice the melon- the aroma of backyard cookouts and picnics came to mind.

They were perfect- ripe, juicy and fragrant.

I cubed them and put them into a bowl.

I sprinkled a little salt and pepper on them- a strange thing to do- but I have discovered that the flavors are more intense when I do this--

As I bit into a cube of honeydew- my mind wandered to 70 degree temperatures, flowered trees and bushes and birds singing- it was Spring in a Bowl.

I looked out the window and reality set in- but for a brief moment I was transferred to a warmer climate- sort of a Garden of Eden.

Spring will be here soon and I can not wait.

Ghost Town at Finnmark

Whoa!

Where is the global warming?
Is Al Gore MIA?
Has someone issued an Amber Alert for Al Gore?

If Vancouver needs snow for the Olympics, let us start boxing the stuff up and mail it to Canada.

I am standing at the balcony door looking out at our beautiful property.

It is a pretty sight- everythig in white.

But it is also a ghost town- no footprints in the snow.
No sound of anything but the howling of the wind.

No one is walking their dog.
No one is out walking.
No sign of Cornell, Billy or Carlos walking around- waving at the residents.
No cleaning crew to say good morning to.
No Heidi to ask how her day is going.

Just the howling wind-blowing the snow up against the door and balcony door.

The only thing missing is the howling of wolves- like in those Dracula movies.

Cold, dark, and the howling of the wind and the wolves.

Where are ther wolves?

What to do on a Big Snow Weekend

Well it appears that global warming has missed this area this year.

Another major snowstorm has hit the area and the Metro area has come to a standstill.

This could be a good thing.

There is no need to run out to the malls, or send the kids out .
Instead this time could be spent doing family things- games. watching television or a DVD together, or how about talking.

How many times have parents sat down with their kids and talked about life in general?

I can see it now, everyone os sitting at the table having breakfast, then helping clean up the house.

Next, the family can sit down and watch television together, perhaps bake cookies, play a game.

Or you could go outside as a family and build a snowman or have a friendly snowball battle.

The best part of being cooped up together is a chance to get to know your children, they in turn get to know their parents and the family can act as a unit.

I recall when I was young my parents would spend this time telling us stories about the snowstorms they had when they were young and this would lead to a further discussion of family history.

So the gist of this blog is-- Get to know your family- relax and have fun.

Good Day.

Fuse boxes-40 years old time for a change

A couple of weeks ago, as I attempted to roast a chicken my oven kicked off.
I tried to turn it on again and it would not kick on.
The electronic ignition just did not seem to have enough power.
I checked the fuse , it did not look right.
I thought maybe the fuse was loose- went to turn it and burned my fingers.
It was very hot.
Using a paper towel, I managed to remove the fuse.
The socket was corroded and full of metal fragments.
Needless to say I did not put the fuse back.
I checked a few other fuse sockets and found similar conditions.

It was time for a change-
I checked out a few electric companies, found one I liked and had the work done.
There was some extra work that had to be done- but I was not charged for it.
Their motto is "your never pay more than the original estimate.
if we need more time or more work we will not charge you."

I am quite happy with the work.

Baby it's cold outside

Man, what a weekend- howling wind. extreme cold weather and no power.

Some of Americana Finnmark residents lost total power, partial power and I believe everyone lost heat this past weekend.

The electrical power problem was a PEPCO problem and was resolved the following day(Monday)
The staff of Americana Finnmark had the hot water problems resolved by Monday afternoon.

Thanks for their quick work.

Now some hints for the future-
1). If there is a power failure call PEPCO first- do not call CMI or members of the Board of Directors or previous members of the Board- there is nothing we can do- we are not magicians and more than likely we are having the same problems.

2).If you call CMI, call them only once- do not keep calling them. They got the message the first time and they know what to do.

3). There is no need to call Heidi after hours or on weekends.
She is not in the office- and she will be getting calls from CMI and probably from Cornel and Billy. There is no need to call her office if there is only a machine to answer.

4). Use your head, do not panic and be polite to whomever you speak to.

5). We have an excellent staff and they will do their best to take care of any problems .

6). When you see our staff walking around or in the office- be sure to "Thank Them" for the work that they do, and thank them for keeping everything in running order.

We have an excellent staff and I am sure they do not get enough thanks from the residents.

John Harrison

I do not know too many people who refer to other people as "he's a cool cat", or refer to someone as a "Hipster".

John Harrison however was one cool cat who still spoke jive.
I met John through his neighbor Ron La Count.
John and I became friends, and eventually served on the Board of Directors together.
Johns had expertise in property maintenance- boilers, A/C, construction, etc. so he was always keeping a keen eye on any property repairs that was going on . Before any major contract work was planned he would go over the cost of the repair work - trying to find ways to save the community money.

Just like Ron La Count ,John cared about Americana Finnmark and was always looking for ways to keep the property looking nice.

But John had another side of him that few people knew about.
He was always willing to lend a helping hand to anyone in need and he liked jazz .

I use to sit with him on the stoop in front of his building and talk music- and I enjoyed hearing him speak about the old days when people were hipsters and cool cats and his young days and the wild life he led.

He also spoke about his children and how proud he was of them.

He and Ron La Count were two oldtimers who really cared about Americana Finnmark. They were also neighbors and good friends.

It seems fitting that John Harrison would die within days of the anniversary date of Rons death.

Perhaps they had more things to talk about--