Yard Sale Saturday

If it's a rainy Saturday in June, it must be the Corbin Park Yard Sale.

Today is no exception. I got up at 7:30 (which qualifies as sleeping in) and got the signs out around the neighborhood. I also placed an ad in the Classified section of the newspaper.

I drove around the park and saw about ten yards set up for the sale. That's 10 out of a possible 83.

I noticed a few other sales setting up on Cleaveland, a block off the park and I'll bet there are others on Euclid, a block off the other side of the park.

I'll check back later to update the weather, the sale, and how many beers I've had.

11:27AM: We took a stroll around the park to check out the sales. We had already arranged with one neighbor to buy a Weber Charcoal Grill for $30.00. Along the way we bought a stuffed snow man, $1, for the Teddy Bear Toss, an unopened "Derek and the Domino's" record album for a dollar, and a canister vacuum for 30 bucks.

3:21PM: I just wasted two watching "Baywatch", the movie, not the TV show. Although both are equally stupid.

5:58PM: Well, this was a pretty useless day as far as accomplishments go. sometimes, that's okay. I'm okay with it.

Se7en Years of Bad Luck?

Back in 2012, we remodeled the main floor entry and hallway. Among the fun stuff we discovered, we found a note from former owners of the house behind a mirror.

They had purchased and hung the mirror back in the winter of 1945. They wrote on the wall, leaving their names and the date. Susan had planned to wallpaper that area but this revelation put the kibosh on that idea. We ended up wallpapering right up to the area and then rehanging the mirror over it. 

We even added our own comments. 

You can refer to our posts back in July of 2012 for more details. Specifically, July 28th, 2012 shows a picture of the mirror just after we hung it.

Well, now we have to add some new comments. When we replaced the mirror, we did not screw it into the wall as it was when originally hung. I placed some reinforcements on the frame and added a chain to hang it by.

That lasted for six years. It fell off the wall tonight and totally shattered the 6 foot mirror and pretty much destroyed the frame as well. Oops!

First Saturday in June

It's Saturday morning and we enjoyed a good solid sleep in...to almost 9AM. I'm not really sure what is on the docket for today. Susan has mentioned something about completing her planting, although I'm not sure what that entails.

One thing I would like to do is tear into the Carriage House and clean and organize a little. Both are crucial...the cleaning is needed badly but the organizing is really needed more badder.

I have come up with a crook in the road. I need to go over to the General Store and find out about a front wheel bearing for my car. It's going out and needs to be replaced.

Okay, the bearing thing is taken care of. I can pick it up tomorrow for $114.00. I have a guy who will do the work next weekend.

Now it's time to work on the Carriage House.

I made some progress on the C.H. Nothing great but it's a little cleaner. That's like saying ISIS is a little less evil. 

It is approaching 5:00 and we are heading down to ArtFest in Cd'A Park. I hope to return with pictures.

This was really the only picture I took at ArtFest. These two dogs were transfixed on a squirrel up in a tree. They held that pose until their owner moved them on down the lane.

It was a typical ArtFest except the food offerings were much more limited. Susan was looking forward to a Gyro from Azar's but they weren't even there this year.

Destruction and Water

Last night, for the third night in a row, we attached the TV Room walls. Susan has pretty much completed the north wall and I'm very close to finishing the west wall.

We came across a little emergency this morning. It appears that I have not completely closed off the water supply to the Radiator system.

Susan called me this morning saying that water was leaking out of the open pipes in the TV Room. Last night, I closed off the drain valve on the boiler and put the drain hose away.

Over the night, it continued to fill from whatever little trickle of water is still entering the radiator system.

I tried to tell her how to turn off the main water but she couldn't do it. There will be some training on that tonight. In the end, I had her reattach the drain hose and open the valve to let it continue to drain.

Memorial Day

We have made it to day three of the holiday weekend and I feel a bit incomplete. I really wanted to go out and visit my Uncle Jack's grave at Fairmont Memorial. He's the only member of the family that is buried here and was a veteran. He flew those big amphibious airplanes during WWII. I haven't been to his grave since he died back in the 80's. Anyway, it seemed like an appropriate day to go say hi and remember him. But I didn't!

We did however make great progress on the front garden.

Check out these stepping stones for stone stepping on. Susan got a bunch of plants into the ground and we have the front of the house looking like we belong in the neighborhood. Or at least, like the neighborhood will tolerate us.

Memorial Day Weekend - Day 1

It is the Memorial Day weekend and we are hanging around the house and doing a variety of chores. Susan is intent on getting the railing on the deck painted. While she is prepping for that I'm going to go out and do some lawn care in the form of mowering.

There will also be some beer drinking and remembering of those who served and sacrificed so I can spend a weekend mowering and beer drinking.

2:48PM: Whilst out mowering, I think I collect as much dirt in my grass catcher as grass. Therefore, I'm quite unkempt and more than a little dusty. My lawn is a disaster. I'm glad nobody looks to closely. So many bare dirt patches. 

But I've done what I can do with what I have to work with.

I have completed a bunch of little projects. I got the pond cleaned out, filled with water and the regurgitating turtle in place and operating at optimum efficiency. 

I also got the air conditioners installed. All three. Yes, box air conditioners are classic white trash but I have hidden them from the front view of the house so I believe I'm covered.

I'm going to start prepping the deck.

I got everything taped up and Susan arrived home just in time to begin the painting.

By now, you must be aware that I'm a big fan of before and after pictures.

Here's before.

And here's after.

We got through it in about two hours. We feel like we really accomplished something. We were so pleased, we went to the Hub for a celebratory beer.

Then we returned home and barbecued pork chops and asparagus and watched "Singin' in the Rain" on PBS.

Day One of the Holiday Weekend is a success!

Boiler Game and Injury

I have set the Boiler Game in motion by turning down the heat. I set the thermostat to 60 degrees. That should prevent the furnace from coming on unless it gets way cold, which is possible here in early May, but not likely.

We actually had to turn on the A.C. last night. It was on low and not terribly cool but enough to recognize having to power it up.

I also need to report a post Bloomsday injury. As I stated on Sundays post, Susan ran Bloomsday. You can check out that post for all the details.

She is currently suffering from a bruised tendon in her foot. She has a significant limp. She thinks she injured it on her foot massager on Sunday night. She went to the Doctor and he confirmed it's just a bruise, or strain, or stretch...whatever. It hurts!

Stray Cat

There is this really large cat that has been coming up on the deck in the mornings and eating the peanuts we put out for the squirrels.

I'm trying to figure out which of the neighbors this cat belongs to. As she was snarfing up peanuts this morning, I knocked on the window and startled her. She then lumbered off the deck and I went out to see where she goes. 

To my great surprise (not really) she went over to the garage and crawled into the hole she has dug under the garage. Oh great! It's not our neighbors cat, it's OURS!

By the way, I'm calling her "she" based on past behavior. It is the females who dig under the Carriage House to have a nice den to have babies.

Bloomsday 2018

Susan ran Bloomsday today. I think it was her 29th consecutive year of participation. According to the website, Susan Burke, Bib Number 13332, finished in 1:36:13. She was the 12,096th finisher. Her pace averaged 12:53 per mile and she was 16th among women in her age group.

Pretty good!

Of course, I did not run. I drove her, along with Mark down to the race and then returned home for a big fatty breakfast and to watch the start of the race on TV. Then I meandered back downtown, rode my bike around the blocked off streets and then saved the table at the Onion.

We are now safe at home and after a nice hot tub and a nap, Susan is enjoying her Foot Massager.

Sorry! No pictures.

The Margie Arndt Annual Pool Jump

Today is a tradition! Our neighbors Tammy and Lou open their pool on this day. It is Tammy's Mom's birthday and she always jumped in the pool on April 29th. Tammy has kept the tradition alive.

It is pouring rain.

The jump in the pool isn't until 3:00 so perhaps we can get the brunt of the rain outta the way so we can jump in the pool and not get wet from the rain.

I know it's not very sound logic, but it's all I got.

The weather cooperated. It cleared up enough for this to happen.

That water is cold!

Rainy Days and Saturdays

8:43AM: For the past week we have enjoyed fabulous Summer like weather. So it only makes sense that we would wake up to torrential rain on a Saturday. 

It's the time of year to when we want to get the out of doors into shape for Summer Livin'. Susan wants to paint the wicker chairs we use on the front porch. She also wants to paint the outdoor carpets on the porch. She's on a painting jag.

So we will venture forth through the day and accomplish what we can.

10:40AM: We have had our traditional Saturday breakfast of CheeseEggs and I'm now ready to face the day.

Last Fall, I stupidly lost two of my best tools. One was my electric chain saw. I must have left it in the yard somewhere and somebody made off with it. I'm horrible about properly putting tools away and I am paying for it. 

Today I am paying for a new Leaf Blower. I stupidly left my old one out last fall, thinking I would come back later to get it and then forgetting about it long enough for someone to adopt it. So I'm off to the hardware store to buy a new one. I have my eye on a Black and Decker Combo Blower/Sucker.

I am a total MariahPhile so I cannot be without a blower.
You see, Away out here they got a name For rain and wind and fire

The rain is Tess, the fire is Joe, And they call the wind Mariah.

So I'm off to the Hardware to acquire some wind.

2:52PM: I have returned successfully from getting some wind and I am quite happy with the purchase. It cost $10.00 more than I was expecting but I'm okay with that. $87.00 for an electric blower slash sucker is okay.

While I am upstairs typing in the computer machine, Susan is downstairs working on her Stained Glass project. She is on the last phase, soldering the joints on the back side.

She is very critical of her work but I think it looks pretty good.

This is a picture I took back in March. It doesn't look much different from this now except that the joints are soldered.

We still have to go downtown and pick up her packet for the run she is doing tomorrow. It's the Run for Boobs that the Breast Cancer people put on as one of their fund raisers.

6:16PM: We have just returned from a carbo-loading dinner at Ferrarro's Italian Restaurant, which is not far from the house. I am stuffed!

We went downtown to get Susan's race packet, dropped by the Hub and then went to dinner. Did I mention I'm stuffed?!

Well, that it for this day. I'm going to go digest.

Hub Run 2018

Today, I participated in the Second Annual Hub Fun Run. It's a .08 mile run from the Hub down to the Mosey Inn, two blocks away. Once there you drink a beer and then run back to the Hub.

I finished the entire course in under nine minutes.

Then I proceeded to drink waaaay too many beers which made me lackluster the rest of the day.

First Mow of the Season

Wow! It's been nearly a month since I last posted. I guess that means nothing much has happened around here.

I have the time to post right now because I'm waiting around for the Plumber to show up. It is time to clean out the main line. Earlier this week, I had evidence of the sewer line backing up. The floor around the drain in the laundry room was dirty with little bits of toilet paper. The pattern definitely indicated the drain had experienced a backup.

I haven't seen any other indication since but it has been a good three years since we had the line roto'd so I am sure it is due.

Two nights ago, I mowed the lawn for the first time of 2018. Having been serviced back in February, my trusty Honda started on the second pull and performed magnificently. I was able to mow up a lot of the leaves I left on the ground last fall. There is still a lot of work to do out there but I have gotten a start on it.

I guess I shall go and play around with the piano whilst I wait for the Plumber to arrive.

$16,567.60

It is almost ten o'clock on a snowy Saturday morning and I am going to take you along on my activities of the day.

That sounds ambitious but it's not. I really only have a couple of little adventures to go out on. The rest is here at home and involves a lot of cleaning. 

Susan is working down at the arena today for the second round of the NCAA Women's Basketball tournament.

I am happy to report that we heard from our cabinet connection and have received the first round of our kitchen layout. It is not exactly how we want it but it's a start. The good news as far as I'm concerned is the estimated cost of this first draft of cabinets, shown above in the title of this post. I was expecting a much higher number.

The price is going to go up because we are going to be adding a lot more cabinets than what the initial drawing proposes.

So here is one of the things I'm working on today that is related to the kitchen.

This is the big kitchen window on the south end of the room. It looks out on the garage and back walkway. We normally have a shade over this window because it is broken and won't stay rolled up. I'm hoping to fix that issue today.

I'm also going down to a door and window salvage store to look at possible bay window replacements.

If I'm going to do all this, I had better get going!

The door and window salvage place was a bust. I think they are out of business. I can see in to some of the windows in the warehouse and there is still stuff in there. But the entrance in the alley at the old loading dock looks pretty abandoned. 

There was lots of graffiti on every wall. There was a banner hanging up the said the name of the business but nothing with hours. I'll have to keep trying.

Diet Buster Weekend

I am writing from our spacious accommodations in Wallace, Idaho. We drove here on Friday evening and are heading back home today. 

This years ski weekend will be remembered as the time we weren't sure we had a room when we arrived. We pulled up to the Hercules and Susan said we were in Apt 1. Apt 1 was unlocked but when we walked in, one of the TV's was on, the beds were unmade and there was a vacuum and cleaning stuff in the kitchen. It was if someone had been working but left very suddenly.

We tried calling and got no answer. We drove into town to the restaurant the people own and it was closed. We went back and unloaded, made the beds, and left a note. 

Then we drove to the 1313 Club to watch basketball and have dinner.

Then Susan turned her phone off and I left mine in the car. 

When we returned, the folks were back and very apologetic and said they wanted us in Apt 2. They said we did a great job making the beds.

We skied yesterday. Hence, we are sore today. 

We have also completely abandoned our South Beach-ish kind of diet. We drank beer, ate carbs and I'm sure I'll be up five pounds.

Wow! That really is a horrible picture, but it's my only proof I was there.

The skiing was delightful although we only skied for about three hours. I skied six runs and Susan got in five. Since it was a gravity induced exercise, I'm not thinking it did much to offset the eating and drinking.

We had a great dinner last night (St. Patrick's Day) at the 1313 Club. Susan had French Onion Soup and I went traditional with Corned Beef and Cabbage.

While there, we watched the Gonzaga Bulldogs advance to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. They played Ohio State. They led for most of the game and went into half time up by 11 points. But Ohio State came back and took the lead about half way through the second half and led by four or five points for a while.

Fortunately the Zags got it under control and won by about 5 points.

As we prepare to head out, we are greeted with a gentle snowfall. We'll see how widespread the snow is as we head back to Spokane.

3:06PM: We are back at home and winding down after our drive home. We're relaxing with more basketball. We just watched Syracuse beat Michigan, another upset in a tournament full of upsets.

We decided to try and find a place to have breakfast on the drive home. There are a few choices in Kellogg but we haven't found anything we really liked. We pulled off in Pinehurst to search for a nice country breakfast spot but came up with nothing.

A bit further west on I-90 there is the possibility of the Snake Pit being open and we decide to try it. It's located a mile and a half off the freeway and right off the Coeur d'Alene river in the town of Enaville.

As we approached the bar, we were happy to see cars in the parking lot and lights in the windows. The gal that was waiting tables was running her ass off and did a really nice job of getting to everyone. I finished off my diet free weekend with biscuits and gravy. Susan had an omelette. The only thing we forgot was to order Blood Mary's. 

Oh well, that gives us a reason to go back sometime.

Both Susan and I are participating in a bracket competition and we are both doing poorly. Hopefully, everyone else is doing as poorly and it all evens out.

So we are now back and ready to return to the routine humdrum of the week.

But first, we are going to go over to the Hub and watch the game between UMBC and Kansas State. Kansas State is seeded 9 and UMBC is the #16 Cinderella upstart that knocked out Number One seed, and my pick to win the whole thing, Virginia.

9:23PM: In order to put a nice cap on today's post, I shall say that UMCB lost by only a few points to Kansas State. We had a nice time watching the games at the Hub and now it is time for the weekend to end.

Step One and Two

We have taken the first step towards a remodeled kitchen. 

Last week, we met with our Financial Advisor. Let's call him Lee.

We have been building an account dedicated to our kitchen remodel. We are doing okay. We have about $30,000 in that account. I would like it to be $45,000. 

So we made some adjustments to stocks we own and are setting our sights on being able to remodel the kitchen in one year.

We are taking step two today. We are meeting with a cabinet guy to try and get an idea of the layout and more importantly, the cost of cabinetry.

Here is my self drawn blue print of the kitchen. That thing in the middle represents our current island and the sink. We want the island to be bigger and are open to the idea of the sink being moved to the south wall in front of the window.

I'm also bringing along pictures of the oven, cook top, fridge and dish washer. We are ahead of the game because we already own these items.

I hope to have some information to impart after the meeting.

End of Phase One

We have just completed Phase One of the South Beach Diet. We take advantage of Lent to try and loose some of the weight that nature and cookies have put on us. 

The most significant part of Phase One for us is "NO ALCOHOL!"

                                               

Phase Two allows a glass of wine per day and so we are trying to stick to that.

Oscar's Appt & Mo Sno

It's Saturday with nothing really planned. So it's fortunate that it snowed over the night and I had the time to do some significant snow blowing. 

It's 1:00PM now and it looks like the snow may be over for the day. There was about two inches of snow on the ground and that's about what was forecast. I'm still going to go out later and get the alley cleared. 

One of the Shear Bolts broke on the right side tine on the main rotor. So I wasn't picking up snow very efficiently.

I went out on some errands that included getting a new shear bolt. Luckily, I got the last package.

While the streets around the house are snowy white and a little chunky, the main drags are clear and wet.

Susan had an appointment with the Vet this morning. No, she doesn't go to the Vet to save money on Doctor bills. 

It was time for Oscar's annual check up. We assume he is somewhere around 18 now. He has lost a pound from last year but other than that, he's doing well.

Trying to Snow

It's been trying to snow all day but it has amounted to only a skiff of snow. I wish it would dump and get it over with. Especially since I have the time on a Sunday to snow blow.

CenturyLink and the Snow Blow Man

It snowed through the night and well into the morning. I needed to get out and get to my snow blowing but first I had to deal with CenturyLink and the hopes of getting my internet running consistently.

The funny thing is that the internet has run pretty steady for the last couple of days.

I got a text message at 8AM that said the Technician was on the way. That prompted me to get out of bed.

The guy showed up at about 8:45. His name was Jason. He was very competent.

I led him to the basement where the phone lines come into the building and the phone blocks (circa 1952) are located. You will note that I did say "Lines".

When this house was a group home for mentally challenged adults, there were three phone lines coming into the house. One was for the fire alarm. We are only using one line so we really have no reason for the other two.

Jason had already confirmed that the internet had been stable for the last couple of days but that it had produced several error codes. He looked over the jumble of wires and immediately began running tests to find out which wires were active. He suspected that the nightmare of wires connected to three different terminal blocks was causing interference. 

It took him about an hour but he got us up and running.

The bonus from his visit was that he thought our connection should be updated. He told me he would call me on Monday or Tuesday and set up an afternoon appointment to run a new line and update the terminals in the house.

This service order with CenturyLink went pretty much the same as other contacts I've had with them. Arranging an appointment over the phone was a nightmare. Dealing with the Technician went smoothly and restored my confidence in the company. 

I told him about the issues I had getting him to the house. He said he has worked for three communications companies and they all suck as far as talking to each other. 

It continued snowing until noon. As it was easing up, I got out there and began my routine. I got through all the main stuff, the driveway, the sidewalks, and some paths through the yard. But I wanted to get to the stuff I missed the other day when it snowed. Specifically, the alley. 

I like to snow blow the alley because I throw the snow from the driveway into the alley. Also, it makes it easier on Garbage Day... easier to get the bins out and easier for the Garbage Guys.

As I was coming down to my last couple of passes in the alley, the snow blower started acting up. The motor started to sputter like it was running out of gas. I checked the tank and it had plenty of gas. I messed with the throttle and choke switch and it kind of cleared the problem. For a while. It did it a couple more times. I managed to get through my rounds without it completely dying on me. 

I think there is more snow in the forecast so I'm worried about it. I don't mind taking it to the repair guy but it is a bitch to load in the car.

I was probably out there for an hour and a half. Doing the alley was slow and hard because the snow was thick and heavy from the previous snowfall.

When I finished, I was spent. I enjoyed a nice long bath with Epson Salts.

It's great to be in shape. At least, that's what I hear!

CenturyLink and How NOT to Communicate

We have been having issues with our inter-web at the house. It's been at least two weeks where it drops in and out. The other day I was watching the modem and the DSL light would blink out and then reboot and come back, only to be followed by blinking out again within a minute. 

I was going to call in and report the problem to CenturyLink, my inter-web provider, but we were gone over the weekend and I thought I would wait until we got back.

So, I called up the service line on Tuesday evening. I spoke to Ava who was from another land. It was difficult to understand her. 

I explained the problem and she set up an appointment for the next day. I told her I wanted it late in the day and I wanted a call from the Technician prior to his arrival. We arranged for an appointment between 3 & 5.

I left work early at 2:30 and noticed a message on my phone. The Technician had called at 8:30AM and announced he was on his way.

When I got home, I had a nice tag on the door from Tony Technician saying he was unable to complete the job because no one was home to let him in.

So, I called up the service line on Wednesday evening. I spoke to Pete who was from another land. It was difficult to understand him. 

I explained that I had called in and had an appointment for that afternoon and the guy showed up in the morning. Pete said that was not the information he had on his computer. I told him I'm not making it up and their communication within the "Communications Company" was horrible.

We set up another appointment for the next day. The window was from 1 to 5. I again requested a call from the tech prior to his arrival.

Fortunately, Susan had the day off so there was going to be someone there for the whole appointment window. I told her I would call her if and when the tech called to let her know he was coming.

I never called her cuz I never got the call.

I got home and nobody from CenturyLink had shown up.

So, I called up the service line on Thursday evening. I spoke to Kossi who was from another land. It was difficult to understand him. 

During the five minutes on the CenturyLink phone tree attempting to get to a human, I was informed by the pleasant recorded voice that my service ticket had been closed.

In speaking with Kossi, I learned that Tony Technician had closed the service ticket on Tuesday because my phone line could not accommodate the high speed upgrade I had requested.

As my blood pressure began to spike, I told Kossi I had not ordered an upgrade to high speed internet. I was having trouble with my internet staying on-line. I then asked why that little nugget of information had not been explained on the previous day when I called to ask why the tech showed up se7en hours before my appointment window.

I also pulled an arrow from my quiver that I didn't necessarily have. I told him I had already left work early one day and missed a half a day today. All for nothing! What are you going to do to compensate me for that. The answer is nothing. They don't care!

Kossi doesn't have to know that Susan was there all day.

Okay, I lied to them and, Gloriosky I feel bad. No...wait! That's not it at all. I am not concerned that I have laid out the truth here and it's possible they might find out. They were already going to do nothing about it. The only leverage I have is this and Xfinity.

Once again, this is a company whose soul mission in life is to provide communication.  They must have farmed out the communication portion of their mission because they CANNOT talk to each other.

The incompetence level on this out sourced phone service is off the charts!

At this point, I have an appointment for tomorrow, Saturday, between 8:30 and 1:00. Stay tuned for the conclusion.

Happy Valentimes

We were greeted this morning with a snowy blanket of love...five inches of love all over everything. It was pretty wet snow so I decided I had better get out there and get my area cleared. That made me late for work. Not by much though.

Now I am home and battling the phone company. My Internet has become very spotty and drops out all the time. I'm fully expecting to have a problem while writing this post.

I called CenturyLink last night and made arrangements for a technician to show up here after 4PM. I arrived home at 3:45 to find a note from the CenturyLink Tech who showed up at 8:45AM.

I just got off the phone with them with a new appointment for tomorrow between 1 and 5.

We shall see how that goes.

SuperBowl LII

We do not care at all about this years Superbowl.

It's not because we dislike football. Quite the contrary. Whom doesn't enjoy a good football game?!

But we are not excited about the teams playing. This year it is Philadelphia Eagles against the perennial forever-there team, the New England Patriots.

We are going to go over to the Hub and watch at least the first half. Hell, it's an official American Holiday, without the paid time off from work.

We feel guiltless to take the time to watch the game because we have had a good weekend of productive productivity full of productiveness.

I have been cleaning the basement. I started the other night with the vacuum on the stairs and the landing at the bottom of the afore mentioned stairs.

It's been a while since that area has seen a vacuum. 

Yesterday, I moved my cleaning operation to the wine room. I failed to take a before picture which is too bad because the change is astonishing. Wow I'm a slob! This is sooooooomuch better than it was.

Today I continued work in the wine room trying to organize the shelves. I have quite a bit of work yet to do.

Susan has decided to revive her dormant Stained Glass skills and get to work on a piece that will complete our stained glass window hangings in the kitchen.

Here is what she has already done.

Now we need to fill that space.

She spent yesterday cutting the glass for her design. Today she broke out her grinder and cleaned up the glass pieces and got them to their proper size. 

I'm glad to see she hasn't forgotten her skills because we still have a lot of leaded glass to repair.

TV and Other Stuff Update

A couple of weeks ago I discussed the travails we were going through with our Dish TV Satellite and switching our local channels over to an Over the Air (O.T.A.) antennae.

Earlier this week, I called and canceled the O.T.A. service. We were unable to reliably receive channel 4, our ABC affiliate. We were not willing to save $10 a month but not have one of the major networks.

We I called they told me I did not have to return the antennae and so we continue to get the extra channels the O.T.A. antennae provides. And we continue to not get the ABC network via O.T.A. 

We do get it from the Dish. So, we're cool!

I was very cool yesterday because I was skiing. I drove up to Lookout Pass and met my friend Geoff Fanning up there, who has season passes that are transferable. So except for the cost of gas ($26.00) and beer ($11.00), I skied for free. 

But it was not free. When I got home it was time to pay the price in the form of body aches. I was soooooo sore last night. I dragged around the house for a while and then took a long bath, followed by passing out upstairs.

However, I am pleased with how I feel today. Don't get me wrong, I'm not ache free, but I can move around pretty well and I think I'm recovering nicely.

A good first day on the hill!

Handy Man Failure Update

I am happy to report that all seems to be well with the hot tub.

I went out tonight and it was up to temperature. I ran the pump and they spewed a little water and then stopped. They ran smoothly the whole time I was adding fresh chemicals and did not appear to have any small leaks.

I seem to have dodged a bullet but I think the bullet might still be out there looking for me.

Handy Man Failure Story of the Day

I went out today to add chemicals to the hot tub. We haven't been using it at all and it had been some time since I treated it. Like a couple of weeks.

I opened the lid and the water was cold. 

Uh Oh!

I messed with all the breakers and couldn't restore power. Finally, I found a tiny little reset button hidden out of the way inside the access panel and got the heat turned back on. I have no idea how long it had been off and we have had some cold nights. I turned on the jets and water spewed out of the both pumps. 

Uh Oh!

I decided to leave the chemistry issue alone and see if the thing will heat up again.

I'll get back to you.

Handy Man Success Story of the Day

Last weekend I noticed that the agitator in the washing machine was not agitating too much. Upon further investigation, I discovered that the agitator was not agitating because it might be broken.

Susan and I went out today to see what a new (to us) washer might cost. We were hoping to keep it in the region of $200.00. 

We drove up to Fred's Ding and Dent Center and found we could acquire an okay washer for around $350.00. 

Then we drove to our old reliable "Go To" appliance warehouse, the Appliance Warehouse. While looking at their selection (lowest price $239.00) I got to talking with the guy there and in the course of our conversation, discovered that the agitator could be repaired.

After a detour to pick up the lawn mower from a servicing, we returned home and I set to work to figure out how to remove the agitator. Prior to doing it, I thought I had better run a load of laundry since I did not know how long the washer would be down.

Once my load of laundry was done, I pretty quickly figured out the agitator. I jumped in the car and returned to the Warehouse. The guy was prepared for me and had checked to make sure he had the right part.

They took the agitator to the back and returned in five minutes. For that, I happily paid them $50.00 and went home victorious.

To make sure, I grabbed the sheets off the bed and threw them in for a wash. 

Suffice it to say that I am pretty pleased with me today!

Good Bye Snowbird

Back in November, I took a bunch of pictures like the one above.

It was time to sell Susan's old car. She has owned it since 1990. She was the second owner. She named it Snowbird,

Last week we put it on Craigslist and listed it for $1,800.00.

Today, we met a guy named Ryan at the STCU Credit Union by Northtown and signed ol' Snowbird over to him. We got the full price.

We had a number of people call about it, a couple came to see it, but Ryan was the guy that finally said yes.

Susan is a little sad to see her companion of nearly thirty years go away. I told her never to love something that can't love you back, but I understand the sentimentality of it all.

Now I have to get on Craigslist and cancel the ad.

Dish Success

It did not happen immediately and it was not a smooth transition but I am happy to say that the Dish guy showed up and we have Over The Air (OTA) channels.

The Technician got it all plugged in and it seemed to be receiving channels but it wasn't showing any of those channels to us. He said it probably needed to upgrade the internal software, which it would do overnight.

He gave me his cell phone number in case things did not go smoothly and he said he would return the next day if the update didn't work.

A couple of hours after he left, I was suddenly getting the over the air channels, but no programming information. A while after that revelation, the programming info started working. 

It seems like everything is hunky dory and I've had no reason to call Connor, the Dish tech guy.

I must say that I am pleased with the clarity of the picture. I didn't know what to expect but I am happy with things so far.

Still Waiting for Dish

Dish TV rescheduled our appointment for today but I just got a call that they are not coming. Even though I received e-mails today confirming the appointment, they say they did not schedule it. I think they forgot to tell the technician.

Anyway, we are on for tomorrow after I get home. Shall we hold our breath?

My big accomplishment of the day was making this wall

look like this.

I'm very pleased with the result.

I gave Susan the curtain rod for Christmas. This is something we've been trying to get done for a year. I finally found a rod design that I liked. Thank you Martha Stewart for personally designing and carving our rod.

The squares of the quilt were made by Susan's mom and they were put together by my mom. So I am calling it the Moms-In-Law Wall Hanging Quilt.

We got a call today on Susan's car. Did I mention here that we put her old Honda on Craigslist? We've had three people interested but so far, no takers. If this guy shows up, we are much more open to negotiation. I probably shouldn't say that until we sell it.

Waiting for Dish

We had our traditional Saturday morning sleep in. I got up at 8 and Susan slept until after 9. Once she got up and completed her morning exercise on the rebounder, it was time for cheese eggs. 
Yum!

One forecast calls for snow, another for early showers and then clouds while outside in the actual weather, the sun is shining and everything continues to be sloppy. 

I'm going to go out and see how much of the sewer drain I can uncover.

In the meantime, we are waiting for the Dish TV guy to call and nail down a 70 minute window for his arrival. I was initially told it would be between noon and 5 today. They said he would call day of to make a more specific time of arrival. 

We are making a couple of programming changes to our account which requires a tech.

And so, here at 11:19AM, we wait.

12:14PM: Still waiting.

12:28PM: I just got an e-mail that said the tech would arrive between 4:30 and 5:15.

So I now have time to run some errands.

It is now the end of the day. The satellite guy was here but nothing was resolved.

He arrived about 5 and tried to install an "Over The Air" digital antennae so we could receive local channels. 

I am learning that Dish TV is kind of running a scam. They are offering this digital antennae with free installation and $10 off our bill. What they are not saying is that the local Satellite operators that provide the local programming are trying to raise the price Dish TV pays them. Dish appears to be unmovable in the position to not pay more. Therefore, the local providers are set to pull the plug this coming Friday. 

So had I not decided to take them up on their offer, we would be losing local channels this Friday. I think there will be a lot of upset Dish TV customers next Saturday.

Twenty-Four Hours Later

I have the night to myself and I am trying to make the most of it. That means there has to be some work and some play. I have some drawing to do that actually pays me and I want to get everything together to hang Susan's Quilt. (More on that when it happens)

Yesterday at this time, it was thick with winter outside. Just 24 hours later and it has turned to slop. It is one of the unusual times when I timed things just right. It snowed. I blowed. It turned to rain.

Everywhere I removed snow is bare this evening. That means I am ready for the snowfall, which I'm hoping is tomorrow.

The neighborhood is looking pretty peaceful tonight. It's a night like this that makes me happy I live here. It's a perfect night to drink a beer, make a fire, putter around the house and then fall asleep in front of the TV.

Before I do that, I have a couple jobs to do.

Later: I got everything together to hang Susan's Quilt tomorrow. I got her the hardware for Christmas and tomorrow is the day to get it up.

I also did a little work on a series of architectural renderings I'm doing for a local guy who is writing a book on construction techniques.

I spent the rest of the night sitting next to the fire with a glass of wine in a darkened living room listening to random music from my i-pod. It was delightful. 

I was sitting there with only the fire lighting the room and thinking about how lucky we are to be living here. 

Winter Returns

After days of copious amounts of rain, the snow has returned. It was falling when I got up at 5:30 and was still snowing when I left for work.

Out at Liberty Lake, the snow was more rain this morning and it's warming up. Still, it snow/rained all day.

When I got home, it was snowing and had been all day. I had a good solid four inches on the ground, which needed to be dealt with before the forecasted rain commenced.

So I broke out the old reliable snow blower and went to work clearing my S.R.A. (Snow Removal Area) It took me about an hour and it was a tough slog. I was really worn out when I finished. Heavy snow is not the friend of the snow blower. Or the snow blower operator for that matter.

Friday is supposed to be calm and then, more snain on Saturday.

MantleVille is Closed

It is official now. MantleVille has closed!

That was Susan's big accomplishment of the day. 

I finished stacking wood and did some work on the sloppy sidewalks and driveway.

Here's a shot of how things look today.

This picture makes it look pretty and peaceful. It doesn't really show all the standing water and sloppy streets. Take a look at the next picture for an inkling of that. 

I'm fairly pleased that I made a little headway with the sewer drain on my corner. Since it is on my corner, I am personally responsible for it. It was iced over and needed to be cleared.

I managed to be mostly somewhat successful with that. I'll have to pick at it over the next several days to expand it.

I also did some poor mans plowing by driving my car down the curb line in front of the house to knock down the berm that has built up. I was expecting to possibly get stuck in the deep snow but it is so wet that the car blew right through the snow. 

Hopefully I'll get all cleaned up in time for the next snowfall.

Winter Mower Maintenance and Stuff

It has turned quite sloppy out in the world. The temperature is above 32 and all the snow is slowly melting away, leaving puddles everywhere. It's quite a mess. However, the driveway is clearing and that's a good thing.

I ran a bunch of errands today including taking my mower in for a service. When I bought it two years ago, I got coupons for free service, providing I bring it for service in January or February. When selling me the mower, the guy sold this as a great extra benefit. 

When I dropped it off today, the guy behind the counter wasn't quite selling it with the same zeal. He said it's a "production line maintenance" procedure where they sharpen the blade and check the oil.

I explained that the mower was difficult to start. It took several pulls on the cord to get it going. Having that problem resolved was not included in the coupon deal. To be fair, I did not expect it to be. 

In the end, it looks like it's going to cost me $30.00.

My other big accomplishment of the day was getting some firewood re-stacked. I have already gone through most of the wood I split back in October and stacked by the back door. 

I had more wood that I ended up piling at the back of the house and throwing a tarp over it. That's the wood I added to my orderly stack at the back door. I got almost the whole pile. I will finish it tomorrow.

I also got most of the Christmas Decorations moved up to the upstairs of the Carriage House.

Post Number Two

As one would undoubtedly recall from the last post, My New Years Resolution is to break my record of 154 posts in one year. I shall do this by posting repeatedly with banal useless information. 

Perhaps I should edit my resolution to break the record but do it with information of substance. 

Consider it edited!

I just had a cup of coffee and then I walked around the house.

More substance than that? This is going to be difficult.

It seems that coffee makes me dizzy so I have given it up. I'll have to try decafe and see if that that is better. 

We are in the process of closing down the Christmas Season and packing all the finery away for the year. While it is a slightly melancholy endeavor, it leads to the coming Season of January Rebirthal. It's my own made up season where one goes around in a fog and tries to return back to normal life.

I'm taking down lights on the outside while Susan is packing up everything in the house. Here's one last picture of Mantleville before it goes into storage.

Whilst I was taking of the photograph, I was informed that the Mantleville will remain for another week. I am told it is the first thing up and the last thing to come down.

Here Comes Twenty-Eighteen

I only had 84 posts to this blog last year. So my New Years Resolution is to beat that number. In fact, I want to beat my all time posting record of 154 set in 2010. Only 153 to go.

We slept in until almost 9 this morning. We had a nice night out where we watched the Seahawks in the afternoon (The Seahawks LOST!), went to a nice heart warming movie called "Wonder" at 6:45, hung out with the Karaoke kids at Das Steinhaus until 11 and then made it safely and undrunkunly home in time to see and hear all the fireworks go off around the city.

Today is the day we begin the process of putting Christmas away. As I was lighting the fire this morning and turning on the tree, it occurred to me that I haven't posted any pictures of the tree. After spending 60 bucks on it, I better have something to remember it by.

Also, I made this short video for all to enjoy.

Okay, now let's pack it all up and get on with the year.