Weekly Ephemera #106

OᐧMᐧG.  Seriously?!?  What a freaking week.

• The insurance adjuster came by to evaluate the hail damage to our house.  After hearing what his report said, our roofer called the adjuster "an idiot!"  This coming week either our roofer will provide proof of additional damage, or I will ask our insurance agent for a visit from a different adjuster - this time our roofer will be on the roof with them.  I was hoping for an easy process but it doesn't seem like it's going to be that simple.  More to come.
• On Thursday we were leaving Omaha to visit family in Minnesota with a side trip to the "Dignity of Earth and Sky" statue in South Dakota.  This didn't start out well.  On the way out of the city a car on my right veered into my lane.  I responded by veering to my left to avoid a collision.  This resulted in our car being hit by a semi.  After a lot of spinning, cursing, and sheer panic the car came to a rest pointing nose in at the center median barrier,  We were not hurt (we would be sore the next day or two).  We were not hit by any other cars.  Our airbags didn't even go off - our car's nose scraped the barrier but didn't actually hit it head on.
  
  The asshole who swerved into our lane was never seen again.  The truck driver stopped and asked us if we were alright.  The back driver's side door was mangled and the wheel well scraped against the tire now.  Highway patrol stopped traffic so we could limp off the freeway into a parking lot where we called a tow truck.  The car was towed to a body shop.  We took an Uber back home, got in the Wife's car, and completed our trip as planned.
  
  When I filed my insurance claim over the phone and described the condition of the car, we were told it would very likely be considered totaled.  If this is confirmed then I'll be looking for a new car this week.
• Our visit to the "Dignity of Earth and Sky" statue was in the rain but we had enough of a break in the weather to get out of the car to get good pictures.  The statue is at a South Dakota visitor's center on a bluff overlooking the Missouri river.  The view from there, despite the rain, was amazing.  The rain precluded taking any good pictures of said view though.
  
  

  

  "Dignity of Earth and Sky"

  We followed the statue visit with a visit to the Atka Lakota Museum and Cultural Center in nearby Chamberlain.  The museum is located on the Saint Joseph's Indian School campus.  The museum covered Lakota history as well as school history.  Very interesting.  To support the museum and school we dropped some money in the gift shop.
  
  

  

  The inside of the school church.

  On the way out we visited the school Church.  The lights were off when we entered and the Wife started flicking switches on and off to see if she could get the lights on.  Turns out she was turning the confessional lights on and off.  We took some low light pictures before discovering the sign in the hall pointing out the button to light the church interior.  The 'picture' behind the altar is actually beadwork.
• In Minneapolis we had a good day visiting with family, watching a cousin's baseball game, and celebrating the seventieth birthday of the Matron of Honor and Best Man.  There were a lot of people, and dogs, at the party and despite being tired (and a bit sore from the accident) I recovered as the party went on and I enjoyed the people and conversation.
• Oh yeah ... Saturday was my Birthday too.  Whoopee.  With the house, Mom, and now the car I don't really feel like celebrating my new year.  I was hoping this weekend away would help me relax and relieve some of the stress I've been living with but I returned home with more on my shoulders.