...maybe I should be wearing garlic

ah Spring...

the fragrances waft through the soft sunny air...
blooming citrus blossoms, warm in the sunshine...
freshly cut grass, also warmed by the sun...
and just a hint, then the stench of sulphur from you-know-who...



yesterday, while watering the plants on my front porch...



I discovered this...

apparently, while my car was parked somewhere...
someone plowed or backed into my car...
I had been to the lumber yard, more on why, later...
and to WallyWorld, [I needed kitty litter & dog food]...
but as much as I'd like to blame them...
it couldn't have happened there...
because I parked with the front right corner next to a tree planter...
no one could have reached it, even if they tried...

so it must have happened at the lumber yard...
they claim their security cameras don't "review"...
sounds fishy to me, but, OK...
one of their company trucks, a large pick-up...
had a slightly damaged bumper & it's white...
but I can't prove anything & they, "heard nothing"...



the damage would have set off my alarm...
& I was at the far end of the store for at least 5 minutes...
where I wouldn't have heard anything...
the damage is high enough that it had to have been a big pick-up or SUV...



as you can see, there is white paint transfer...
the headlight unit is damaged...
and the fender & bumper are torqued & disconnected...
not to mention the lovely dent...

the insurance estimate is $2237.73...
it will take 4 days to repair, after the parts arrive...
that means 4 days of a rental car, which the insurance does pay for...
the problem ? I have a $500 deductible...

*sigh*

I considered NOT repairing it, but that's a lot of damage...

a loose bumper & fender...
broken headlight well...
possible frame damage...

I guess I'll just have to use a credit card for the deductible...

but, WHY, you ask was I AT the lumber yard ?



see the "ripple" in the bricks below the half-timbering ?



yes, the brick facing has come loose...
between ground movement & the corner, settling...
pressure is causing the bricks to bow out...

now look above the top of the window...



sigh...

I had figured that if I got a piece of pressure-treated wood...
27 7/8"x 5" x 1",with a 1" x 27 7/8" piece glued to it...
[to fill the gap between the board and the bricks...]
and then painted the "Tudor green" like the rest of the trim...

that I could screw into the underside of the top of the window frame...
and it would support the most "at-risk of falling off" bricks...
while I re mortared the cracks & gaps...
with the mortar replacement stuff & "Alex"...

& since it would blend in with the rest of the trim...
I could leave it there to improve the structural integrity of the bricks...
because I can't afford to have a foundation jack installed...
which is what the corner needs to be stabilized...

or even to have a mason redo this entire area...
so I'll try to prop-up & caulk the gaps...
hoping that we don't have "a seismic event" anytime soon...
'cause even a little one would be disastrous at this point...

of course, the roses have to be cut WAY back first...
& I have to dig my drill out of the garage[no small undertaking]...
THEN carry around & climb up on a ladder...
probably torquing my back, BIG TIME...
while getting stabbed by the remaining rose bushes for my trouble...

then, after pre-drilling holes...
install the support shelf & re mortar the bricks that are loose...

sounds like such fun...

and that's why I was at the lumber yard...