"Live Free and Die" Memorial Day 2020 under occupation

"It's "Live Free or Die", not 'Live free AND die'," said Michigan Governor Whitmer at one of her coronavirus briefings.  SNL parodied it, and that is all that is out there now.

This post began as a commentary on the ridiculousness of her statement and comparing what she is doing to the book 1984.  Instead, I will let these timeless words, written by a Canadian soldier during the war to end all wars, say what needs to be said in indictment of Gretchen Whitmer.

We also received word that Bluewater gets to build compressor behind us "but we should be proud" that we lost.  We should be proud that a corporation can destroy our homes and lives, that we should be afraid and live in fear of a virus....  I don't recognize America, do you?  Would the soldiers, who lie sleeping in their graves from WWI and WWII -- would they?  What would they say to us, who hand away without thought, what they gave their lives for?   Not all wars are fought with artillery, and we must be willing to keep faith with those who fought for our futures.

In Flanders fields, the poppies blow,

Between the crosses, row on row,

  That mark our place; and in the sky

   The larks, still singing bravely, fly

Scarce heard among the guns below.

We are the Dead.  Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

  Loved and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you, from failing hands we throw

  The torch; be yours to hold it high.

  If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

~John McCrae, 1872-1918

Crazy House, Part 2...

One serious note:  As I make fun of my house, let it be known that I love my little house, and I am fighting tooth and nail to keep it sane in a world where it no longer fits.  This house and I have an unusual relationship.  I get annoyed at the idiosyncrasies from past residents, and it drips water on my head when no one is around, with no sign of a leak anywhere.  

I started this post last May.  That says a lot.

On with the fun and craziness of this house because who can't use a little fun and crazy of this sort right now with the governor  -- I mean virus -- running loose.

My house is a never-ending source of amusement for those with a strange sense of humor.  I hope the biggest thing to come out of the kitchen redo is that we get rid of the ant hill, and maybe one of the places mice like to come in.  After 20 years of living with them, I'm ready for a "Richmond Divorce"  (from the mice and ants, not the house.) Yes, I have lived here longer than anywhere else in my life, surpassing my beloved Bates Road.

Before I enter the fun and crazy, a little background...  I found a house plan, courtesy Internet Archive, from Modern Home Plans ca 1955, which is the closest I have yet found for my house.

Look at that linen closet!  In my dreams...

A few differences:  the plan has stairs for a basement ; no laundry room; kitchen and dining are flipped; and the bedrooms are larger in this plan.  Also, the closet is next to the bathtub, whereas ours is in a row with it. 

My attempt at drawing our house layout.  2 squares = 1 ft

Classic ranch-style, I believe.  It had a one-car garage at a point, where the plan I found had a car port.  I don't know my garage sizes, but I assume a 14 ft wide garage is a one-car.  I don't have enough experience with garages to know.

Not a bad house at all, but certainly not standard to today's standards.  We hit 1400 sq ft because of the garage, but we lose a bit to the furnace and everything that would be in a basement, if we had one.  Originally it didn't have a furnace but a heat pump outside, which explains a few things that never made sense.

I have always thought the pantry in the hallway was a nice touch. 
It took me years to realize it was supposed to be a pantry.

This shows the current layout of the kitchen and laundry.    The washer and dryer are 9" off the wall due to the sagging floor and the way the dryer vent comes through the floor.  All of the appliances are in the same spot, helping cause the sagging floor.  The rest of the floor issue involves an old leak which rotted the joist and cracked it, conveniently where all four appliances meet.  This is what really is setting off the "kitchen redo." We should have fixed the floor sooner, but we couldn't find anyone willing to help.   We were even told leveling the floor couldn't be done.  Thank God for friends who say, "Oh, I've seen worse than this before..."  We couldn't have made it this far without that kind of encouragement.  I can understand now why people buy a house and completely tear it apart.