Dasy 4239

I've got ice again. A plumber came out this morning and after a lot of experimenting, determined that there was nothing wrong with the shut off valve the other plumber installed last week. Apparently, a small piece of rubber from the old broken valve had gotten into the small copper pipe going to the refrigerator and caused a jam that stopped water from flowing. This scenario seemed very unlikely, but it had to be true. There was no other explanation. After replacing the long copper pipe with a flexible braided wire hose, everything worked fine. A few hours later the first ice cubes started to form in the icemaker. I'm back in business.

The plumber said that since there was nothing wrong with the shut off valve they installed, that I would have to pay for this new work. I didn't feel like arguing. Technically, it was their fault for not testing the system after they were finished, but I was the one that told them to just leave the valve in the off position, because the appliance repairman hadn't finished fixing the ice maker yet. The young plumber was very polite and did a good job. I could have bought big bags of party ice for the rest of my life for the cost of these repairs though. Oh, well. The whole repair saga is still less expensive than my upcoming root canal.

We got more rain today, including a few heavy downpours. The leak hasn't reappeared in the kitchen, but I noticed a very small new leak developing in the hallway leading to the office. I think I'm going to have to settle for a new roof that still has standing water. It is just too expensive and complicated to re-slope the existing roof so there are no low spots that cause ponds to form after it rains. I just need to get a warranty from a reputable roofing company that lasts longer than I expect to live and just forget about all the standing water on the roof.

Dawn has no fear of thunder and lightning, but she hates to get her paws wet. We couldn't get her to take an early walk, so we had to wait until we returned from visiting the rescue Dalmatians. We finally got her to pee in the yard before we left for the kennel, but it was an uphill battle. Dawn does not like to walk on wet grass.

Cooper and Charlie were glad to see us. They know we we bring them tasty treats and the occasional new toy. Cooper loves rope tug toys and when he finds one, he will always bring it to you to play tug with him.  Charlie is still obsessed with soft plush toys. One of the kennel attendants told us that he carries them around the way he does because he is waiting for an opportunity to take the toy back to his kennel and tear it up in private. We got to witness this today when Charlie found a stuffed duck that had a squeaker that made a quacking sound. We need to remember to just have indestructible Kongs and rope toys in the play area when we are up at the kennel. Both dogs are kind of weird with plush toys.

We took Dawn on a short walk when we returned from the kennel. Our timing wasn't good, because we got caught in a downpour and we all got wet. Dawn was disgusted and sat on the bed for the rest of the day after we got her dried off. I waited until the storm had passed and then took my long walk. It was considerably cooler after all the rain, so the walk was actually quite enjoyable.  It is rare to have temperatures in the seventies in August. 

I think we're done with rain for a while. The hot weather will probably return tomorrow. I'm going to need to go up on the roof and look for leaks again as soon as things dry out. It's a never ending battle. I wish I could find a contractor like those guys on that PBS 'This Old House' series. Real life contractors aren't like that at all. I guess I'll watch the Boeing Starliner launch on a streaming channel tomorrow. I'd love to be there in person, but it wasn't meant to be.

Scout is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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