Ace Hardware Store Haiku

We were discussing every imaginable thing over a delicious salad luncheon before our monthly book club meeting. Conversation wandered from the construction on our home to the knob that fell off of one ladies cabinet...the brass screw was broken.

After trips to big box stores and little box store, she arrived at the Ace Hardware store. The clerk actually found her what she needed. One (1) brass screw of the right length and she paid almost nothing for it. She does not have 25 screws in varying sizes rattling around in the junk draw. The knob is on the cabinet. It is just amazing.

Women, believe it or not love a hardware store. We can find pot and pans, squeegey, mops, screws, light bulbs and paint. If you don't know how to repair something, chances are some helpful man/woman will be will to sell you the tools and give you a free lesson on how to use them.

We actually decided that we all love the ACE Hardware store on 185th at TV highway. There was poetry first, well more of a limeric, and then being the cultured and educated women we are, there was HAIKU (smile).

The Cabi-net Door

lost the darn knob
Never more
Thank you very much ACE Hardware
(store)

Mary Jo and Susan.

Have a great day!

Paint Your Wagon (door)!!!!!

After doing some further research into the paint situation and the condo front doors I have found Bluestone & Hockley (This is the property management group for our master HOA.) has the paint pallet binders. So if you are interested in painting your front door on your condo (which is your responsibility) you should contact Heather at Bluestone & Hockley to get your color. I am not certain if it requires a visit to their office or not. I also am not sure if you need to call your building representative but I would suggest that you do. Just be on the safe side and they really want to know what you are up to.

Heather Hutchison, Association Manager
503.222.3800

September 11...Fly your flag with pride!

A friend sent me this email this morning inviting everyone to fly the American flag on September 11. The idea here is that we pass the word on to at least 11 people.

On Tuesday, September 11, 2007, an American flag should be displayed outside every home, apartment, office, and store in the United States.

Every individual should make it their duty to display an American flag on this sixth anniversary of our country's worst tragedy. We do this in honor of those who lost their lives on 9/11, their families, friends and loved ones who continue to endure the pain, and those who today are fighting at home and abroad to preserve our cherished freedoms....

I would suggest that we might fly flags everyday of the year. I look forward to the day that we have a holder for our flag so it can fly upright and free.

b

Sherwin-William and the Paint Color....SURPRISE!!!!!

I was in for a shock when I went to the Sherwin-William Paint store!!! I was looking for those now famous "Accent Colors" for our condo's front door. If you just tuned in, you need to know that we are not allowed to paint our front doors unless we use the "accent colors" that were used by the original builder. We were told at the last condo association meeting that all we needed to do was go to the Sherwin Williams Store on 10th Avenue here in Hillsboro, Oregon to find the colors AND we are responsible for caring for our front doors when they become shabby looking. It seemed like really good information that we could work with.

Given this reality, my husband and I ventured out Saturday to the paint store to buy our quart of "permitted" paint. The conversation with the clerk went something like this:

Clerk: Can I help you?

Me: Yes. I am told that Sherwin Williams has the list of accent colors for the condos at Orenco Station.

Clerk: Why do they keep sending you people here?

Me: Gasp!!!

Clerk: We only keep lists of that sort for 2 years. When was your condo built?

Me: Seven years ago.

(HE SEARCHED ON THE COMPUTER BUT COULD NOT FIND THE LIST)

Clerk and me: (silence) (more silence) (yet more silence)

Clerk: Maybe they wanted you to pick out your own color and that is why they sent you here.

I don't know what to say. I need to apologize to you readers for any inconvenience this has caused you but I gave you information that the board member in charge of this sort of thing gave me.

(SILENCE)

NOTE: WE CHOSE A COLOR THAT WAS AS CLOSE TO THE ONE WE ALREADY HAVE AS WE COULD. NOW THAT I GET IT HOME I THINK IT IS TOO BROWN. WE WILL USE IT ANY WAY! But if we decide not to does anyone want to buy a can of Sherwin-Williams paint????

A condo association board Haiku!

Board judgement clouded.
Wisdom is the sun through clouds-
The sun warms us all.

by the neighbor

I love the idea of haiku although I have not perfected the art. It seems that saying a few word with a huge impact can be liberating and poignant.

We have had so many discussions on this blog about CC&R's and how the "Interpretation" of them play out in the real world. One of The Neighbors shares our disappointment in the very nature and tone of our boards attitude of control. We all would like to see a board that encourages people to make their places look like home. We would like to hear them say, "Use your deck, put in one one rose bush you can call your own, put pots on your patio on the corner units and make our "homes look beautiful". Be careful where you place things so people won't fall and don't make a mess. But people can fall over door mats, cracks in sidewalks, door jams and stairs!!! That is why we have insurance folks.

Please don't see things "through clouds" Let the sunshine in..."it warms us all."

b

*afterthought: Dear board, If you have a problem with ONE unit please talk to those people. Don't make us all suffer. It doesn't work in the classroom and it doesn't work in real life!!!

"My Wonderful .mac Account" plus information on internet scam

Note of caution:

My husband and I received an email from a credit union in Arizona asking for private information. After checking with the credit union we found out it was a scam!!! Be very careful about what you open and what you respond to. There is probably not a free computer out there and certainly credit unions do not operate over the Internet!

Do you have a back up account somewhere on the web that keeps all your precious information safe? I happen to have a .mac account and pay a fee to keep it on a yearly basis. But up until yesterday, I did not actually understand how it worked or even if it was worth it.

Then my computer went on a binge of misbehavior that sent me into a fit of useless computer work. It would not let me write or move and would not accept my password. All I could see was a screen full of pixels. I broke out in a sweat and imagined a computer gone forever and maybe, no new one replacing it. I was fit to be tied.

We did actually have to reformat the whole thing. It was two days of no computer and I was having withdrawal problems!

Then, while I was gone this morning, my husband finally got it back up and running, sans address book, keychain, calendar and on and on. That was when it occurred to me to go to my .mac account and sync everything to my computer, bringing back all those things that had been going the other way for quite a while. Back came my address book and everything else it allows me to store.

I will be keeping that account!!!!

I just thought you would want to know.

b

*Note: For those of you that read my blog yesterday before I could get it edited, please forgive the way it looked. All I could think to do was publish and correct later. Thanks for staying with me.

Hillsbor Public Library

I love to post pictures with my blogs. I should have taken a picture of the inside of my purse this morning. After visiting the library yesterday with my granddaughter, it was full of pamphlets, book markers and information on our NEW library services.

If you have not gone to the Hillsboro Public Library on Brookwood, you need to make plans to do so very soon. (Go down Butler west until you hit Brookwood, turn right.) The move our city made to this new location was just perfect. The space is huge!!!! You can buy a cup of coffee or a snack, buy used books, cruise the stacks or get information on just about anything. If they don't have what you need out with pamphlets, ask the librarian to help you. I have used this service over the years to find out about companies my children have applied to for jobs and others that were seeking property when I sold real estate. The services they offer are just astounding.

While I was visiting them yesterday I found (and put in my purse):

A list of concerts that will appear at the Glen and Viola Walters Cultural Arts Center.

August 30 Duke Robilard (blues man)
Sept. 20 Mark Atkinson Trio (acoustic trio)
Sept. 28 Misty River (female string quartet)

Sewer Backup Information (City of Hillsboro)

Web addresses:
http://hillsboromaps.ci.hillsboro.or.us (Hillsboro Maps)
www.Willinet.wccls.lib.or.us (digital library to download books, etc)

Hillsboro Library guidelines including information about online holds, etc.
Competitor Northwest (free magazine about fitness, marathons, biking, etc)


How to get free tickets to:

Children's Museum Chinese
Classical Garden Japanese Gardens
Pittock Mansion
Portland Art Museum
Rice NW Museum of Rock and Minerals

Cooperative Library Services (allows you to pick up or return books to any Washington County Library)
Hillsboro Public Libraries News Letter


Many information publications were in Spanish and the library has an extensive collection of books in different languages, allowing bilingual citizens to pick up books in their native language. Add lots of computers for the public's use, willing volunteer to assist you and you have a wonderful place to go. I have always loved the library. My granddaughter and I checked out her stack of magazines with the self-service machine and were out of there in a flash.

Have a great day. b