I Should Have Just

rolled over and gone back to sleep.

It's been that kind of day.

Oh, it all started out swell enough with a good mug of coffee, breakfast, 8 piano related 'digests' in email, finish off another set of keys to ship on our way out of town...

Fantastic, the mail-lady arrived just before we were leaving. Should be a BIG check for some key work by now. What? Not yet? But, hurray, there's an envelope from the DTA! Before I backed out of the driveway, I opened it. Totally unbelievable. Well, the sad thing is, it IS believable. They have denied my application because...I didn't provided the needed information or documentation.

WHAT?????

I talked to 'my' worker last Thursday. She called to say that they needed my Sept. 08 and Jan 09 business records. (Even though they weren't requested in the initial list of required documentation) I told her that I would mail them that same afternoon. I stopped everything I was working on and first recorded all my business stuff for Jan. in my account book, then went to the library and photocopied both month's records on legal sized paper and walked directly to the post office AND MAILED THEM. ATTENTION A_______ G_______. This was an ordinary business envelope. It would have been received the following day. At the latest two days.

I called today and got HER machine. I left a very stern message. Now I wait.

So anyway, back to the day...Shipped off the package and headed up to Haverhill, to Ted's Leathers, to buy a suede split for gasket (reed organs and player pianos). It's a 45 minute drive and we were relieved to see the hours posted for being open Wed. through Fri., 12 - 4. Except, Ted's has changed. I think 'old man Ted' is no longer around. A young man opened the doors to the leather storage area (behind the retail clothing space) and it was near empty. Nothing I could use. From racks upon racks and floors covered with bins, it is reduced to four tables of dregs. How utterly disappointing. I loved being able to touch and inspect the leather before buying.

We drove around Haverhill a bit and then decided to head to Amesbury and have lunch at Friendly's. As I opened the single, glass door to enter, a woman barged her way past me, leaving. Honestly. She actually pushed me out of her way as I tried to walk in through the door that I had opened. Ooooh, I could just...We were seated, and told that Amanda would be our waitress. Amanda didn't have all her oars in the water. Our meals were borderline warm and it took forever to get them. Amanda kept forgetting things...like us...and water, butter, my fries. While we were there, we planned the rest of our dismal day. Since we were so far north, we decided a trip to the Home Depot and Walmart in Seabrook, NH would be in order. Mom would buy birdseed, 'A' would buy a new portable CD player. Well, mom managed the birdseed, but there was not one CD player in the entire Walmart.

Time to head home and a really cool sighting along the way. Yes, I even had my camera with me. No, I didn't take a picture. Because...what would I do with a picture of a windmill? As we headed across the Rte. 1 bridge in Newburyport, my mom exclaimed, "Look!" Well, I was paying attention to staying in my lane on the bridge, so it was pretty hard to figure out where she wanted me to look. Then I saw it looming over the city of Newburyport. A brand spanking new windmill out in the industrial park! It's enormous! Yay, for Newburyport! (I will take a picture next time, now that I know it's there and can plan ahead.)

Got home to a box of keys at the door and no message from AG at the DTA.

At least there's work.