Thus Far My August Has Not Been The Best

/ Ally Bean

Here we go…

GOBSMACKED.  My car, parked legally on our street, was in an accident.  I found out about this when a neighbor, then a police officer, came to our front door to tell me that someone had rear-ended my vehicle.  Was it another car? A truck? A van or SUV? A person on a motorcycle?

No it was not.

It was a man on a bicycle who was going so fast that when he lost control he propelled himself through my back windshield, shattering it to bits.  And hurting himself so much that he had to be airlifted to a hospital across town.

[I have no further information on his condition at this time and my car is in the process of being repaired.]

DISAPPOINTED.  When Google Reader shut down a few years ago, I started using Feedly as my RSS reader.  I was thrilled with their straightforward, fresh and easy-to-use format.

In fact, as one of the early community members I told everyone I knew about this service because there was no fuss when reorganizing your feeds, no distractions when reading your chosen content.

Earlier this spring, I graciously consented to take a few in-house Feedly surveys, each of which had about a gazillion questions.  In my responses I praised what the company was doing, telling them that I appreciated how they were staying true to the idea that simplicity is best.

Well, Feedly didn’t listen to me.  And last week they changed their simple box-oriented organizational format to a cluttered mess of feeds, shown in lists overburdened with distracting data.  When I asked Feedly what the heck was going on, they told that the community wanted this.

Really? Hmmm. Not everyone.

[Therein I will leave this story, wiser to the truth in the old saying: if you aren’t paying for it, you’re the product.]

EXHAUSTED.  Our 3 to 4 week remodeling project, that started on June 5th, is now into week 10.  We’re still waiting for the rest of the decorative tile to arrive– and now we’re waiting for the second custom frame for the shower doors to arrive.

Why?  The first custom frame, measured correctly, was then created in the factory incorrectly.  This first frame, when installed in our bathroom, was too short for the doors.

So until a new frame arrives, sometime before Christmas one hopes, we have shower doors leaning against the wall in the bedroom, rather than serving, what I would believe to be, their intended purpose in the bathroom.

[This project has had more unanticipated screw-ups than even I could envision– and I’m pretty damned creative & fretful when planning anything.]

SADDENED.  It is with sorrow that I share with you, my gentle readers, that Fuzzy the Squirrel has passed away.  I’d been seeing less of him around the deck this summer, and when I did see him he was moving slowly, not even bothering to swipe a few tomatoes from my pot.

Last week while watering flower beds out back of the house, I found his almost lifeless body, under a bush near our lower level patio.  He glanced at me, then rolled his eyes upward, as he twitched his right front paw in the air.

Shortly thereafter he was gone from this world.  However, Fuzzy will be remembered forever in the pages of this blog.  May he RIP.

[All stories about Fuzzy the Squirrel are here.]

67 thoughts on “Thus Far My August Has Not Been The Best”

  2. I really hope your remodeling project takes off quickly–it’s so frustrating to have everything ready on your end, but then have to wait for others to do their part. Best of luck to you!

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  3. Wait, how did Fuzzy meet his demise? Old age? Tis a sad day in the garden…and you tales of remodeling have lead me to second guess buying a home at all. If a remodel can face this many set-backs. how on earth would it be having a home built from the ground up (as I’d love to do, or so I thought)…

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    • Dana, from his position under the bush it appeared that Fuzzy’s back legs weren’t working. I think he might have fallen out of the tree, broke his back [?], then dragged himself to the bush for shelter.

      We had this house built years ago! Having done both, I’d say that having the house built was easier in that you aren’t living in it while the work is going on. However, having a house built is a nerve-racking, expensive ordeal that comes with its own angsty problems. It’s 6-to-1, half a dozen the other, ‘ya know?

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  4. Sigh. I’m so sorry about…Everything. This has been a sadly disappointing summer all around for lots of people I know. That doesn’t help you personally, I know, but if the old adage is true that Misery Loves Company (or There Is Strength In Numbers), then…well, maybe it does after all. Even a little.

    (Hey, at least your house didn’t explode and you don’t have a snake stuck to your face.)

    But seriously, perhaps you can take a wee getaway, even just you alone for a day or two? A Change Of Scenery seems Highly Indicated.

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    • nance, it does seem that lots of people are having more difficulties than usual this summer. I blame it on The Donald and his lack of direction + leadership. As a country we are coming undone, and that bad energy filters down to the individual.

      I like your idea of a short getaway. A change of scenery would be wonderful. Maybe when my car is repaired…

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  6. What a mixed bag of sad, awful, frustrating news. Happily, August in now 1/2 over so perhaps things will brighten a bit as we slip off closer to September, and autumn 🙂

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  7. You can’t make this stuff up, right? The cyclist crashing into your parked car is bad enough alone, but in context of all of the above? Ay, yi, yi!

    I don’t suppose you will want to hear that Mercury has gone retrograde, will you?

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    • Elen Grey, I’ll admit that this has been one weird summer for me/us. I’m not distraught– more tired of everything going sideways, you know? Thanks for the good thoughts. They’re much appreciated.

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  10. Oy. Bless poor Fuzzy the squirrel, gone to the great beyond. I felt same when I no longer saw Chubby Squirrel around. Her baby’s still with us though, last of the brave squirrels, I suspect.
    Renovation unpleasant, wholly agreed.
    Bicyclists don’t heal as well as cars, but that’s a truly gobsmacking experience, I agree.
    I follow via email and GET MAD WHEN PEOPLE DON’T HAVE EMAIL SUBSCRIPTION available. I can’t speak to your Feedly issue, but I can tell you, sometimes I don’t get the email, or I even get magically unsubscribed and it messes with my head.
    I feel badly your August is poo, because August is always so good to me. So much so, I’ve begun writing a post about it.
    Month about half over, eclipse comin, maybe things’ll shake out right soon 🙂

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    • joey, I’ll miss Fuzzy, but am convinced that he’s left many grand-fuzz behind. He was so charming that I’m sure he had his fun with all the lady squirrels around here. 😉

      The whole remodel topic is kind of a continuing saga of small problems that are beginning to bore me to no end. Over soon, please.

      I’ve never tried following bloggers via email. I like having all my “follows” in one service that I can tap into whenever the mood strikes [&/or I have time] to catch-up with everyone. I may try Bloglovin’ now. I have an account there, but have never used it.

      I’m convinced that the eclipse will set things right for me & am hoping it’ll do the same for the poor man who smashed into my car. Talk about 2 unexpected events…

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      • Yeah, I had to let go of the WP reader, because I could never get through it. I had to make decisions, cull might be the right word, sadly.
        But with the email, I can choose order. And more importantly, I can walk away and come back later to choose again. I hope you find a new system that works for you.

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  11. Poor Fuzzy – may his squirrelly soul Rest In Peace. They say death divorce and building operations rate in the top ten stressful issues – I know that is no comfort and none meant, but if you can survive another few months of shower doors resting, you can survive anything 😀

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    • Susan, Fuzzy was a character from the start, so his demise in this way is kind of dramatically predictable.

      I didn’t know that building/remodeling was on the same stress level as death & divorce, BUT I BELIEVE IT. I’m hardly losing my mind over all these delays, but any day now would be a fine time for this remodel project to be over. Just saying…

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  12. Quite a depressing list. August hasn’t been the greatest for me either, although there have been some stellar moments. That is very weird that the bicyclist somehow didn’t see your car. Texting while biking? Hope he is OK. My brother got t-boned yesterday; it’s his 4th accident in a couple of years, none of them his fault! Seattleites need to learn how to drive more carefully! Don’t get me started on companies messing with a perfectly good format; Bloglovin’ has done the same thing.

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    • Margaret, you’re the second person to mention texting while biking. I cannot even imagine doing that. I’ve no idea what happened as I didn’t see the accident, but I sure wish it hadn’t happened.

      I despise this techie idea that it’s great to change things just for the sake of changing things. I see no reason why Feedly cannot offer two versions of its service: Classic [for me and my kind] & Modern [for ppl who like stats and clutter]. If they cared about me they would…

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  13. August has been stressful for me too, but I am grateful (selfishly) that my stresses have all been caused by one thing – that thing being our government in all of its oafish chaos – and hope that this month straightens up and flies right for you, so your fall can be one of smooth sailing. Or as smooth as the sailing can get if we continue this way for the next 3-1/2 years.

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    • Carol, I hear ‘ya. I feel like the whole subtext of this month has been Dodgy Donald’s failure to be presidential. No one knows what to do about removing him from office before he does more harm to our country and us– and it’s making all of us more stressed than we need be. Then add a onetime eclipse into the mix and things just have to go wrong. But like you said, let’s hope that the fall is a great one for all of us.

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  14. There must be something about your aura this month, Ally! I get your posts via email and for the first time it went into the “junk” folder! Of course I pulled it out and made sure to mark “this is not junk mail” so that hopefully it won’t happen again but still…

    Do you live on a hill that the force of the collision could have put him through your back window? Seems to me car windows are pretty strong? Yikes!

    Hope you have another shower to use or can put up curtains in the meantime. I couldn’t deal with having no shower! Sorry to hear about Fuzzy. Did you bury him in the flowers? Crossing fingers the rest of your August gets better!

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    • Janet, maybe all I need is a good aura cleansing and then things will be set right. Oddly enough throughout all of this I feel amazingly calm and focused on my goals. But the weirdness of it all is tiring.

      We live on a slight hill that [get this] the man was going up! I don’t know how it happened, but I feel sorry for the guy– and for my poor old car who was minding her own business.

      We have a second shower so we’re good. And we didn’t have a formal burial for Fuzzy choosing instead to say a few kinds words over him– and then letting nature take its course. [There are foxes, coyotes, owls, snakes, and hawks around here, so nature accommodated quickly.]

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  15. I’m glad you weren’t in your car when that bicyclist barreled through the back window. Hope he’s OK.

    Sorry about Fuzzy and Feedly and your Frameless Shower Doors. Fingers crossed that you have some brighter days ahead, AB!

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    • nancy, I’m glad that I wasn’t in the car, too. When the police officer came to the door and explained what had happened, I couldn’t believe it. For once in my life I was without words!

      Yes, I’m looking forward to brighter days… preferably ones in which we can use our new bathroom. Honestly, of all the dumb things to happen.

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  16. That seriously qualifies for a very bad month. Sending good vibes your way for a much deserved, wonderful end of August (and smooth remodeling going forward)!

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  17. Oh my! Strange, sad happenings indeed! Sorry about your car. I can’t imagine how fast the bicyclist must have been going to break the window!! Yikes! Poor little Fuzzy. At least he had a great life in your backyard😕 our remodeling project should be done tomorrow. We had a couple of Snafu’s too. I really like our contractor. He can do it all😀 and has made things work for us. He’s been here for 30 years. Best of luck in getting everything wrapped up soon!

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    • Beth, I thought the same thing: how fast was this guy going? I cannot imagine how awful it must have been for the man. I still am kind of gobsmacked about it.

      Yes, Fuzzy had a good life and lived [I’m guessing] 5-6 years. He was a character who loved the camera!

      About 96% of our remodeling project is finished and it looks great. But until the last few things come through, we are in limbo. Obvs.

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  18. I’m sorry about your car, but even sorrier for the cyclist… I wonder if you’ll ever know what led up to the accident. I made sure to tell my cycling husband about it too. He is very careful, but strange things can happen, and in cyclist v. car altercations, cars usually win. That must have been an interesting conversation you had with your insurance company.

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    • Janis, the accident happened midday on a hot muggy day. My car is white so it contrasts with the street and the green grass, making it noticeable. I don’t know what went wrong, but I feel for the man.

      Our insurance guy wasn’t so surprised that someone had gone through my back window as much as the fact that the someone was an adult. He said usually it’s a teenager who does this sort of thing. Go figure.

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    • Betsy, none of this is awful for me personally, but it’s rather weird that all these odd things have happened all at once. I was looking forward to a calm, mellow August… but NO! Thankfully we’re halfway through this month, so I cling to the idea that it’s all uphill from now on.

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  22. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! Poor Fuzzy! I really hope he has an heir who can take over the job of providing squirrel antics for your amusement. As for the cyclist, all I can think of is Eric Idle in “National Lampoon’s European Vacation”…

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    • evilsquirrel13, I knew you’d take this news hard. I don’t know for certain what happened to Fuzzy, but at least he died peacefully adjacent to his home tree– and not squished on the road by some car.

      I’d forgotten about that movie, but now that you mention it…

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  25. And that is why I steer clear of cyclist. They should be made to obey the traffic laws. They speed, they run red lights and stop signs….it’s scary to drive next to them….glad you are ok as cars can be fixed.

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    • agshap, I know what you mean. We live in area known for cycling and I often see someone riding on our street– at all times of the day. When driving my car I’m super careful around these cyclists because not all cyclists obey traffic laws… but it never dawned on me that my parked car would end up in a cycling accident. 😕

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  26. August can’t last forever. I am looking forward to September. The signs and portents (or the weather this August) are pointing toward and earlier autumn than usual. Cooler weather will be welcome.

    I cannot imagine hitting a car on a bike hard enough to be thrown through its window. It’s a frightening image.

    I am so sorry about Fuzzy. Our Godot destroyed our bird feeder. The second time he knocked it down all the walls came apart and their little tabs, like Humpty Dumpty, couldn’t be put back together again. Made me feel a little squirrel unfriendly for a while. The birds have enough to eat in the summer and are having to wait until winter for me to find a lead lined steel birdfeeder that is squirrel proof.

    By the by, if Feedly gets to be too frustrating, try inoreader. It’s much like Google reader used to be and the free version works fine for me. A friend of mine who reads a couple thousand blogs uses it and it allows enough customization to even work for her. I am far more simple.

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    • Zazzy, I’m seeing the same signs here that autumn is going to be earlier than usual. As long as winter holds off until January I’d be thrilled with months of autumn weather.

      That whole bike accident baffles everyone. I didn’t see it, but am impressed [or horrified] that anyone could pedal that fast to do so much damage to car and self. I haven’t heard anything about the man, nor do I suppose I will.

      I chuckle at your optimism about finding a squirrel-proof feeder. Dream big, darling!

      Thanks for the suggestion about inoreader. It’s not that I can’t use Feedly, as much as the idea that they’ve made things more complicated for no discernible reason– except that they can. *humph*

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