Power Outage

Today we had planned to do some furniture shopping in the morning. As I was waking up, the power went out. I assumed Momoko or Kit Kat had popped the circuit. No. The whole house power was out. We proceeded to go to the furniture store. I knew we were in trouble when the main street by our house was closed down. They ran police tape across the whole road.

We bought Little Kat a bookshelf to serve as his new TV stand. Next we bought Momoko a skinny but tall DVD shelf. Finally we purchased a coar rack. Momoko planned on driving by McDonald's to get us some cold drinks. She came back a long time later. Many traffic lights were out. There were no McDonald's around with power.

In the house without power, we drafted a list of items we would need due to the power outage. We went out to do some emergency shopping. I had to fill up Momoko's gas tank. Many gas stations were out of power. Others had long lines of cars in front of them. It was hard to drive around. Roads and lights were closed. It felt like Armageddon out there.

Momoko had us drive up to another town further North of us. They had gas. There were no long lines. Then we hit up a nice burger joint. We drank many glasses full of cold drinks. Afterwards we headed to Walmart. They were lacking in batteries. They did have hand fans and flashlights. We picked up a bag of ice. There was celebration as we finally came back home. The front porch light was on. Thus, we got back power.

Gale Force Winds

Kit Kat worked the late shift at work yesterday. She got home around 10pm. I wanted to get some original chicken sandwiches on sale at Burger King. We also wanted to buy Kit Kat some dinner. I drove Kit Kat's car with her as passenger. We went to the drive through and placed our order. The guy said Kit Kat's sandwich would take 4 minutes to cook. He asked us to park on the other side of the building.

On the other side of the building, Kit Kat and I saw a tree branch blow by. Then a massive storm came upon us really quickly. The employees of Burger King kept looking out the window. We waited and waited for our food to come out. It did not. After 15 minutes, we drove back around to inquire within. The people forgot about us. They made up by giving us an extra onion ring.

As I tried to exit the drive through, we saw a tree had fallen and blocked the way. I slowly backed out of the drive through. It was tough in the dark. We proceeded to drive home. There was a lot of debris in the roads. The sky was lit up with massive lightning. I dodged tree branches in the street. We got home and ate chicken sandwiches. Some neighbors had trees down in their yards.

Shopping in the AM

Kit Kat was off from work today. We took advantage of that and got some shopping done. Both Momoko and Little Kat set their alarms. Our goal was to wake up at 9:30am and be off shopping by 10:00am. We succeeded. The first stop was the hardware store to buy some paints for Kit Kat's room.

Kit Kat found a violet paint color for her room walls. It is a darker shade than her current color. She also picked out an apple green for the trim in her room. We brought the colors to the counter. I also brought along the color Little Kat had previously picked out for his room (Honeydew). We made some decisions on the type of paint and finish. I almost bought a few more cans to qualify for a rebate. But they did not have the mold-resistant white I needed at the store.

Next we went to an electronics store. I saw a 32-inch LED flat scree TV on sale. We needed Kit Kat along to tell us whether she thought it would fit in her room. Previously she said she wanted a small TV around 24 inches. Kit Kat decided she could live with a 32-inch TV. We could not find the specific model I wanted on display. But a sales clerk found us one that was comparable.

Another employee from the store came out and recognized Momoko. It was one of Momomoko's past students. She is in college now. I dealth with the original clerk, and had him pull the TV from their stock. I used a gift card I received to lower the price a bit. The TV fit fine in the back of Momoko's car.

Now we will see whether a similar sized 32-inch TV will fit in Little Kat's room. He is hoping the answer is yes. I also want him to check whether the TV can handle the high resolution and speed graphics that come out of the game consoles such as the XBox 360.

The Library

Momoko and I moved our computer desks to our studys. That left an empty fireplace room. I hired some guys to move our loveseat up from the basement into this room. Without the desks, we had nowhere to put items such as the mail or keys. For a while we just used a TV tray.

Then Momoko and I bought some key ring holders at the store. The kids were afraid to install them over the light switch. They imagined that the screws would puncture an electric wire and zap them. Instead they installed these rings by the coat rack. Now we have plenty of spots to hang keys.

Next Momoko picked out a secretary desk to hold our mail. I ordered it online. Even with shipping, the price was reasonable. UPS delivered it to us quickly. I rolled the box in using the dolly. Momoko and Little Kat tried assembling the desk while I was at work.

The instructions for desk assembly were lacking. By the time I was done with work, Momoko and Little Kat were arguing over who had to hold the wood, and who needed to drill. I stepped in and helped a bit. That got the difficult folding part of the desk out of the way. Momoko and Little Kat continued the assembly as Little Kat cooked dinner in the background.

Now we have this desk to hold our mail. We put the phone on top of it. The fold out part folds up into the desk to hide its contents. It looks cool. Little Kat was amazed by the metal arms that hold the folding part into place.

Rough Ride

Today we needed to go carpet shopping. We wanted to focus on the carpet Little Kat is going to get in his room. I planned to drive Momoko's car. She had other plans. She decided to have Little Kat drive the car out of the carport, and down the driveway. This is the first time Little Kat has ever driven one of our cars.

Momoko showed Little Kat the gas and brake pedals. I showed him how to work Momoko's emergency brake. Momoko directed him to put the car in drive and give it some gas. He did and the car moved forward. Then he slammed on the brake. After a bit of whiplash for the passengers, the car stopped.

At this point, I took over the wheel. We went to the carpet store we used twice before for our house. Those guys do a great job installing carpet. We spoke with the store owner. He gave us an overview of some of the carpets. Then we let Little Kat go off on his own to choose his carpet.

Initially Little Kat identified a plush carpet with a "coffee" color. Then he changed his mind to a soft carpet in black. Black got denied. So he switched to a soft carpet in gray. In the end we tallied the carpet costs. Little Kat's initial choice was the most expensive carpet in the store. His second and third choices were premium carpets as well.

Now I am deciding whether to allow Little Kat to get the expensive carpet. We carpeted his room once before (in the last 4 to 8 years). His carpet is in bad shape. He might do the same to the new carpet we choose.

The Unsale

Little Kat has been complaining about needing new shoes. At first he stated that his shoes were falling apart. I had him bring me his shoes. They appeared brand new. I then had him bring over my boots. The laces had come apart and were tied together to try to hold the boot on your foot. The soles were literally hanging off unconnected to most of the boot. You get the picture. I showed Little Kat what a broke down shoe really looked like.

Next Little Kat complained that his shoes did not fit him. I had him bring all his shoes out. Two pairs of flips flops were too small for the soles of his feet. The rest of the shoes and boots seemed fine. I approved the purchase of some new flip flops. I don't mind buying clothing and shoes when we need them. But we can't purchase new stuff just because someone is bored with their current apparel.

The family went to Target to shop. Little Kat tried on a few styles. He found one that fit his foot and he liked. Momoko exclaimed that the prices were good and they were an extra 20% off. I told her the prices were not great. I asked if she wanted to buy the flip flops. She declined. At checkout I found the flip flops were full price.

On the drive home, Little Kat Momoko excalimed that the flip flops rang up half prices. I pulled the car over and inspected the receipt. Nope. They were full price. I had to put an end to the crazy talk. Besides. Little Kat is supposed to be at his dad's house. Dad should be getting him shoes during the summer.

Schedule Change

I got up one day this week. Headed outside to water the newly planted grass. Kit Kat came out shortly after me. She was dressed up and ready to go to work. After watering, I headed down into my study to log into the work computers. It is summer. But I still have to work every day.

Thirty minutes later I head someone enter the house. It could not be Momoko or Little Kat. They sleep in during the summer. Sure enough it was Kit Kat. I presumed the worst. She said that they had changed her work schedule without telling her. Instead of working the morning shift, she was in charge of the swing shift that day. Fail.

Kit Kat took a nap. I was concerned she might oversleep her swing shift schedule. Momoko woke up and checked that Kit Kat got up on time. She was very tired working the late shift. At least she had some more business then. Not as many people shop at her store during the morning hours.