Friday, March 6, 2009

Kitchen remodeling



We've been having some work done in our kitchen. As you come into our house, we had a table on the left and it seemed to do nothing but accumulate clutter. So we had that area rebuilt (see above) and now it has two large cabinets for storage (cat food, soda cans, recycling, etc.) and two drawers for misc. On the side are bookshelves for my cookbooks. The top matches the rest of the kitchen countertops and is at a good working height. And - right above the drawers is a pull-out piece that can be used for extra counter top space perhaps for making cookies. It has really changed the look of the room and we really like it.


When we first moved into the house we had lights installed under the kitchen cabinets but we were unhappy with them as they stuck out - you could always see the light fixture. To correct that, we had wood attached to the cabinet to block out the fixture. Now you don't see the fixtures, just the warm glow of the lights. What a difference!!







Thursday, March 5, 2009

Two weeks - and no pepper spray

About a month ago, I had a disturbing encounter at the homeless shelter where I volunteer. One of the guys - very intelligent and educated - began talking about fixing the world's problems by destroying the police station. He had a number of violent options on how to change things and what he said made me wonder if he was suicidal. I was concerned - for his welfare and the rest of the city - so I brought it to the attention of those running the shelter. And then I went home and went on with my life.

The next week, he didn't show up. Maybe he had moved to other housing or had found a job?

The week after that, he again re-appeared. He began to talk of people "ratting him out" and he made it quite clear that he knew it was me who had said something. And he hinted that the next week when I came I would get pepper sprayed though he was far too careful to say anything outright. I didn't know what to do with this bit of information, haven't been threatened since grade school bullies made nasty comments. Should I report it and likely get him in trouble again or was he just angry and rambling? I decided not to do anything.

But when I got home, I did research pepper spray on the internet. Though illegal in many states, it can be legally purchased in Washington state. I also checked what to do if you were pepper sprayed. Water apparently isn't much of a help though milk can help dilute the effects.

The next week, I was on my guard. He never showed.

This past week, again he did not show.

Maybe I'm home free. Is he?