Who's in Charge?

Since I'm still just getting started with this blog, I'll play catch-up on the last month. As I mentioned in my last blog entry, I've been working out of my home since Christmas. Since I'm somewhat incapacitated, I can't perform my normal "chores" and my wife and “around occasionally” 25-year-old daughter are now running the household. Here’s how things are going so far:

• We have 3 automobiles here – 2 are currently out of commission because the fuel lines are frozen. One of my typical chores is to keep the cars gassed up. Clearly, I been neglecting my chores...


• I don’t have automatic oil delivery because I think they gouge you on pricing. So I keep my eye on the tank and re-order we go below 1/8 of a tank. You can probably predict where I’m going with this. The bad news is both heat AND hot water are oil-based in my house. All day yesterday I worked in my 45-degree “home office” wearing a coat and hat. The oil guy finally showed up around 6:30PM. None too soon - by then the living room temperature was right around 39 degrees.


• Our house has 4 bathrooms – 3 of which have toilets that are clogged and need to be plunged. I am not sure why this happens and, for the sake of good taste, I will not speculate.


• Taking out the trash has always been a “guy thing” in the Fernald household. Our town allocates each home a 70-gallon barrel on wheels that can be lifted and emptied by a truck with an automated arm. Problem is you have to put trash into it and then put it at the curb every Tuesday. My lovely bride has been tossing full trash bags onto the porch as she is very inexperienced in this area. Last night I counted and accumulation of 7 bags. So...I wheeled up to the porch door and shot seven 3-pointers – I went 6-for-7. I then convinced my daughter to wheel it out to the curb.


• I’m “babysitting” my daughter’s dog while she visits her fiancee’s family in Colorado. The dog is housebroken but that’s providing you get her outside every 6 or 7 hours. My wife lets her out at 7:00AM before leaving for work. Around 1:00 or 2:00 she starts looking at me kind of funny. I can’t just open the door and let her run because she needs to be on a leash. Eventually she finds a corner of the basement. When my wife comes home around 6:00PM and eventually discovers it she gets mad at me for some reason....

One thing I have noticed – advice, no matter how tactfully presented, is never well received and is usually taken as criticism. Since I rely on the wife and daughter for food and other necessities, I have learned to my mouth shut.

Other than that things are going fine....