when the going gets tough

Sometimes a little escapism is just what one needs.

As I mentioned in my last post, we were hoping for an easy fix on our central air conditioner. After some excuses (some valid, some seemingly not so), the HVAC guy, Rocky finally showed up. Turns out, our AC was fried. I wasn't surprised - it's 30 years old. The "good" news was that our furnace, despite being the same age, still has another 7-10 years to go. After agreeing about installing a new air conditioner, it's been one excuse after another why Rocky couldn't show up. Yesterday - Saturday - was the last straw. I got up extra early to get ready, expecting Rocky and his partner to be here. Rocky texted me at the last minute, claiming his truck broke down. He sent me photos of his truck being towed away and said the service department couldn't even look at his truck until Monday. So now he was hoping for Tuesday to install our AC. Oh, it gets even better....but first, my escapism story.

I was disappointed and frankly, pissed off due to Rocky's excuses, but because it was a beautiful day, I decided to get out of here and take a little day trip. I went to my happy place: Evanston.

I always start out by visiting Hewn for one of their homemade scones or muffins. I sat outside on the benches they have set up in the nice weather, enjoying my treat and people-watching.

Next, I walked up the street to Secret Treasures, my all-time favorite vintage shop. I did indeed find some treasures...this set of aqua (or is it turquoise? Either way, it's my favorite color) Buffalo China (USA) diner dishes and creamer.

And this aqua and white striped McCoy pitcher. I love vintage pottery, but especially McCoy. I walked by this piece twice. I picked it up and held it and looked it over and put it down. Walked around the shop and thought about it. Would I regret not getting it if I didn't buy it? Probably. I'm glad I bought it. It's a beauty.

Evanston has a ton of gorgeous houses. I've featured some on my blog in the past. I was driving around and found a street I don't remember being on before. It was lined with beautiful homes, so I pulled over, parked the car, and went for a walk.

This home was having work done on it. I love the architecture.

This home is almost fairytale like, but elegant.

I then went to the farmer's market where I bought baby greens, romaine and breakfast radishes. I accidentally deleted the photos from the farmer's market, so I had to steal this one from my IG page. The way this vendor displays their vegetables is always beautiful. There's another vendor at this farmer's market that sells their authentic tamales and tacos. We get something to eat from them every time we're at this farmer's market. Since it was lunchtime, I got a chicken red mole tamale, and headed for a shady picnic table. It ended up that I sat across from a lady from Chicago and we had a lovely conversation while we were eating. ("A stranger is a friend you haven't met".)

A trip to Evanston wouldn't be complete to me, until I've visited the lakefront (Lake Michigan). All the shades of blue never fail to amaze me. 

 I sit on the boulder and just gaze out at the water. It's so peaceful.

 Looking the other way into the park. This place is never crowded, even on a weekend. You might see some dog walkers, joggers, a family having a picnic, some teens playing Frisbee, or lovers walking hand-in-hand, but never many at one time. I took my blanket and laid in the shade under a big oak tree. That's when I decided to take a closer look at the photos that Rocky sent me of his truck being towed away. I zoomed in on them and it hit me: There were no leaves on the trees in the background!! Not by his house, nor in the background of the house across the street. These were obviously old pictures! Busted! I called Brian at work to tell him. Brian then called the tow truck company and talked to the guy that had been on call since 4:00 a.m. He hadn't had any tows all day! I immediately texted Rocky and called him out on all this. Told him if he was going to be a liar, at least be a good one. Do you know what he replied? He said, "Whatever. Trees are dead do (sic) to the wetlands." Riight. It got even uglier from there with him saying he was going to send us a bill for a service call (he had waived his service call fee when he finally showed up, since he was a day late) and that if we didn't pay it, his brother was a "lean (sic) lawyer." What a horrible, dishonest businessman.

In the late afternoon, I finally headed for home, but stopped at Gigio's Pizzeria to get slices of pizza for Brian and his work partner. I made a special delivery on my way home. Gigio's is a place that has special meaning to me and Brian. We ate there all the time when we were dating. And when he was working nights as security in the local hospital, I'd pick up pizza after I got off work, and bring it to him for dinner at the hospital. Thirty-six years later, and I'm still delivering Gigio's pizza to him at work. 😉

Back to Rocky and his HVAC business, I did warn locals on my FB page and my town's FB page about him. I was going to write a review on Yelp, but I did my research first and found that you can be sued for slander for posting negative reviews on businesses. Of course, there's loopholes - you have to word your review just so - but I didn't want to take any chances. I also chose not to report him to the BBB - at least, not just yet. I'm still thinking about it. Again, I read about filing a complaint against a business, and it involves communication with that business. I don't know if I want to go there. I've already blocked his number on my phone so I can't receive any more texts or calls. I'd rather just forget this whole thing and put it behind me. Though to cover my behind, I took a drive out to his house today and took photos of the trees and wetlands surrounding his property. No surprise that everything was very green and lush - no bare trees.

We have found a new HVAC company - one that was recommended by several people and has an A+ rating on BBB. We'll be calling them first thing tomorrow morning. Here's hoping we can get a new AC unit installed ASAP...after this week of cool temps, it's heating up again. It's already 82 degrees in the house today and will only get worse as the week goes on. To be continued!