Noisy Neighbors!

Tuesday afternoon just down the block from our apartment around 2:00 pm a crew pushing pipe under the street struck a natural gas line on the corner of 50th and Arden. They quickly notified the police and the surrounding area was evacuated just in time, as around 4:00 pm the house on the corner of the street exploded in a ball of flames leaving nothing but a gapping hole in the ground.

Margaret was at work in Arden Hills and I was in Mankato. So we weren’t immediately aware of the disaster.

Apparently the punctured gas line had leaked into the sewer line and backed up in the house.

these first photos courtesy of FOX 9 News linked story here:

http://www.myfoxtwincities.com/dpp/news/minnesota/edina-house-explosion-feb-23-2010

We walked down a day or so later and looked closely at the mess. There is virtually nothing left standing and the house next door was severely damaged as well. We took a few pictures of the devastation.

The Gas company trucks are still monkeying around in the sewers trying to flush the remaining gas out.

The house next door

Miraculously no one was hurt. Even the little dog that was home in the house at the time of the explosion escaped without injury somehow.

One day you have a million dollar home in Edina the next day:

Life is like that!

Time for new Specs

Its been about three years since I’ve had the prescription in my glasses changed. Its about time to venture into the eye doctors again to see how time has affected my vision.

Since I have vision coverage in our health insurance plan I have to go to a provider that accepts our type of insurance. Now it just so happens that the closest provider of our plan is located in the Galleria Mall in Edina.

If you not familiar with the Galleria it an upscale trendy place that people with too much money usually frequent. That means that this place is fairly expensive, but because the coverage I have provides a substantial discount the final out of pocket to me will be reasonable.

An appointment was scheduled for one night after work and we cruised on down to the Galleria. After all the poking and prodding, air puffs in the eyes, and the back and forth of “ Is image A clearer or image B” the verdict was rendered.

No problems with the eyes, but the reading glasses need to be stronger and the distance vision is not what it used to be. A new set of progressive lens bifocals are in order. The prescription was rendered and we ventured out into the frame gallery to find a new set of frames to house the new lenses.

They say that fashion repeats itself every 20 or 30 years or so, and eye glass frames are no exception to that rule. The most popular frames today and also the most expensive ones, I remember my grandfather wearing 40 years ago.

While I’m getting old and I’m as nostalgic as the next guy I can’t see myself wearing glasses that make me look like my grandfather. I guess if your young enough that you don’t remember people wearing these 40 years ago it works.

So not the nostalgia route. I don’t want round again. I do like the frameless ones. Wait! here is a cool pair of frames that the marketing advertises that they will make me, Better Looking,” “Cooler,” Taller,”a Better Lover,” and that “Women will not be able to keep there hands off me” as well as “Guarantee me a Raise.”

How can I not go with these frames!

Well women…. can you keep you hands off me?

Another brush with the Law!

I don’t know why, but we still check our mail box. There is never anything good in there. All of our business is now done online and the only thing we ever find in the mailbox is junk mail or bad news. 

Day after day we perform this ritual of checking the mailbox on the way in from work. Occasionally its empty (that’s a good thing). More often than not it full of total garbage that needs to be dumped into the trash as soon as we get to the apartment. Once in a while its bad news! Remember: I’ve been pardoned.

Well it seems that everyone gets their “Brush with the Law”, because the bad news in the mail box this time was a Jury Summons for my “Favorite Deaf Irish Woman”

I can just see this now!  Can you imagine what would happen with Margaret on a jury!!!!!

 

Reading a little further there appears to be hope yet. One of the questions on the summons is: Do you have any disabilities that would keep you from serving on a jury? Check this box “ X”  and include a letter stating what your disability is.

Ok write the letter and fill out the questionnaire and send the summons back to the bureaucracy to be processed, and wait……………………………………………

Eventually a few weeks later as the wheels of justice grind slowly……….

She has been released!  But just in case the deafness is only a temporary situation the District Court reserves the right to call her to serve again!

Lesson learned!

Don’t check your mailbox!