Quarantine Journals - More Plumbing, Weekend etc

I don't wanna do another long email right now because I don't have my keyboard with me, so I'm just going to try to hit some bullet points.

I talk to the adjuster the next morning, and he basically told me that he felt like the plumber was charging me too much and taking advantage of the situation. Because of the way the plumber worded the invoice, we're now going to be on the hook for an additional $2000, and the adjuster kept saying "I just wanna know if you are OK with this invoice because from a personal standpoint, I wouldn't be.". Which was deeply upsetting to me because I don't like feeling like I'm being taken advantage of, but I also don't like being in the middle of this back-and-forth between two people that I don't know that I can even entirely trust.

So I called the plumber and explain the situation and asked him if he could look at the invoice again and see if there's anyway to lower the cost that we're going to be our responsibility or a reallocate them elsewhere, and he said he would take a look and he was sure there was something he could do.

Which was deeply upsetting to me because I don't like feeling like I'm being taken advantage of, but I also don't like being in the middle of this back-and-forth between two people that I don't know that I can even entirely trust.

So I called the plumber and explain the situation and asked him if he could look at the invoice again and see if there was anyway to lower the cost that were going to be our responsibility or to re-allocate them elsewhere, and he said he would take a look and he was sure there was something he could do.

The dig crew went back out to widen the tunnel, and I guess around 4:30 PM flipped the outside breaker again, which meant the freezer was off. Michael told me he could go by that evening and reset it, but if I knew somebody else he was closer and could do it, to go ahead and ask them. So I asked joanna if she would go over and take care of it, and she spent like 30 to 45 minutes trying to get the lockbox on the front of the house to work, but wouldn't, so she ended up leaving. Then Michael said he couldn't come over then, but he could come over sometime the next day, and sent me a screenshot from Google side of the freezer should be fine up to 48 hours.

He never sent the updated estimate.

He also said that the dig crew didn't finish, and would have to come back on Saturday. So they spent a considerable amount of time breaking concrete and digging again on Saturday. My neighbor mentioned to me that they had a kid with them and they were out there using all of all of those toys, which I had noticed on the doorbell camera before.

They actually weren't at the house in the morning, and DryForce for some reason decided that they weren't going to come out and pick up the equipment until that evening. They've been out a couple of times thinking that they could take it, but I guess things were still reading wet. Anyway, when we realize that they weren't going to be there in the morning, Richard went ahead and went over to the house before work so that he could feed the fish and turtle, water the plants, and reset the freezer.

The dig crew pulled up in the front of the house while he was still inside, so he jumped in his car and left before anyone was in the driveway.

The kids and I spent the day playing games, doing freeze dance, and walking around outside. My dad had spent the morning mowing all of the land because he was worried about the kids getting into the tall grass, and then that evening while my dad was fixing the okra dish, we saw a mama deer and two babies out by the pond. He spent hours cooking that dish for us, and it smelled so amazing that I could afford it through the house on the odor itself. It was delicious.

I spent the evening watching a live feed of the statue protest in Weatherford. There were some people coming in from enough is enough Fort Worth to help support our local protesters, but when Weatherford PD put the word out that this event was happening, half of the town Weaponized and went down to the Square early. People were set up with confederate flags and racist signs as early as 230, many of them drinking beer and basically tailgating while they waited for the protesters to show up. When the protesters got there, it was just verbal and physical assault. Fight broke out when a white man decked one of the protesters  And took off running. Shortly there after, the police were driving down the street on their megaphones telling everyone that regardless of whether or not they had a permit, they were issuing a disperse order and everyone needed to leave the area or they would be arrested. The Black Lives Matter protesters peacefully and respectfully left the area out of fear for their safety, and the swat team marched past hordes of confederate flag waving locals to pursue the 20 some odd protesters down the street.  It was disgusting and horrifying and infuriating to watch. The videos of the counter protesters attacking the protesters are disgusting. One of our protesters' moms came down to the event and harassed her physically and verbally for the duration of her presence there.

A man kept circling the square with a truck pulling a trailer that was decorated to look like a jail with Hillary Obama built inside of it. There were more confederate flags in downtown Weatherford that I have probably ever seen in one place in my entire life. The things that were people were yelling legitimately made me gasp for air. And when I found out that one of the men that was punched was Tony, the protest leader, I felt physically ill.  When the swat team followed the protesters down the street, all of the Confederates were chanting USA, yelling get the fuck out of here, and cheering.

Back to the plumber... I'm getting really irritated with him because he hasn't sent over the estimate, and he ignored multiple phone calls and text from me yesterday when I was trying to figure out if the decree was up at the house or not so Richard could go by. I can tell he's getting irritated with me, but believe me… The feeling is very mutual at this point. I woke up this morning to a text from him saying that he couldn't reallocate any of the cost because the insurance and already seen the invoice and it would be considered insurance fraud. I've been pointed out to him that we were spending over $10,000 on this job, and I felt like surely there must be somewhere that they could discount the fees that we're going to be out of our pocket. He said he was sure there would be some wiggle room, but he would have to talk to his boss when he got back from vacation on Monday. 

Our Sunday was pretty low-key. We spent it playing board games, paying bills, I sent flowers to Debbie because their dog Mika passed away.  Richard took Oliver for a nap, and I played boardgames with Penny and my dad. When Oliver woke up, the kids played with her toys for a little while, and then Richard made a shrimp pasta and we all sat down at a table to eat dinner together. The food was yummy, but after we had eaten pasta and drink wine, Richard wasn't feeling up to getting in the pool. Penny was pretty disappointed about that. And Oliver, finally, I've been yelling to get in the pool as well. His last experience in there really helped him conquer a lot of his fears, and he's eager to go again. But, instead, we played hot potato, and a couple of board games, and then the kids went to bed early.

Oh, did I mention that I burnt the crap out of both of my hands today? I make garlic toast to go along with the pasta because that's what we always did when I was growing up. Everyone was sitting down at the table to eat, and I went over to the oven, put on an oven mitt, and reach down to take the test out. Apparently… The oven mitt isn't actually insulated anymore, and does not protect you from the heat up the oven. So somewhere between the oven and the countertop I was sitting it down on, I had shooting burning sensation in my hand. I yelped and kind of tossed the baking sheet up onto the countertop, but there was a towel, so the baking sheet started to slide towards me. Instinctively, I reached out and shoved it back onto the counter with my left hand, which didn't even have the advantage of a half assed oven mitt, so now I have blisters on one hand between my thumb and forefinger, and burns on the other thumb pad and between that thumb and forefinger. My dad came in, put the oven on, and tested it out… I guess to make sure that I wasn't crazy? He verified that, yes, it does not work, and then proceeded to put it back in the drawer or someone else will use it again.

Throughout the day, I was watching protest videos, hoping document timestamps were counter protesters were verbally or physically abusive towards the protesters. I've been sharing articles as the events is getting covered by the local news outlets. Saturday evening, Weatherford was even trending on Twitter, if you can believe it. Now everyone will know our small little town for all the races that came out yesterday and all the hate that they spewed. And it breaks my heart. I just can't believe the disgusting display I witnessed.

Now I'm just sitting in the living room, letting memories flood over me, until the point that I feel like I'm drowning. It's like I can almost see them playing faintly before me when I sit here on this couch, my mom coming in the back door with cinnamon rolls from Grandy's after a long night shift. I was eating breakfast together at the dining room table before she went to lay down for the day. Me watching TV in the game room and tiptoeing around the house so as not to wake her. Fixing a pot of macaroni on the stove and then eating it all while I watch soap operas. The days where she didn't have to go to work, and I would celebrate because she was up early and we got to spend time together. I remember huddling over the sewing machine, the embroidery machine, the surgery, all of the dining room table, learning from her or learning together. The computer desk still says exactly where it was when I was a teenager hanging out in chat rooms on AOL. I'm listening to my Matchbox Twenty playlist from back in the day, and feeling almost suffocated with nostalgia.

I was going to go to bed early, but here I am again. I don't really want Monday to come because I am tired and burnt out and dealing with all this plumbing bullshit.