Day 4664

One down, two to go. The repairman came out today and fixed the washing machine. At least I think it is fixed. The drain filter was clogged with debris and after it was cleaned out, water drained from the machine at a much faster rate. I think everything is fine, but I'll do a load of laundry tomorrow just to make sure. If there are any problems, the repairman is coming back on Monday. I've still got the refrigerator and the dryer to fix. A fan has broken on the refrigerator which is causing the compressor to overheat. I was wondering why parts of the exterior were warm to the touch. Evidently the entire refrigerator is acting like a heat sink to dissipate the heat from the compressor. The funny noise the dryer is making is caused by a failing belt drive. Janet says it would be cheaper just to replace these appliances. She's probably right.

We had a pleasant sunrise walk with Dawn this morning. It was only 54 degrees when we woke up. I actually should have worn a warmer jacket. It was definitely chilly outside. I'm finally learning which trees to avoid in the park now. The little green web worms are everywhere. I wonder why they are so bad this year? I've seen these things before, but this time it's different. It feels like we have a major infestation of these things.

I feel like I spent most of the day waiting for the appliance repairman. He actually came to the house twice. The second trip was necessary because he forgot a tool that he needed. The repairman told me that many washing machines have a convent access panel that makes it easy for users to clean out the drain filter. Not my machine. You have to tear apart the entire machine to gain access to the hidden filter. They couldn't have made it any more difficult to service if they tried. Maybe I won't have to do this again. The machine is fairly old and I don't recall ever cleaning this filter before. The dog hair alone that this machine has seen over the years is probably enough to clog anything.

I did get my grocery shopping done today, but I spent so much time waiting for the repairman that there wasn't time to go to the gym or take a long walk. I did manage to get at least 10,000 steps though by taking a short sunset walk after dinner. I don't know why I've become obsessed with getting my steps. I walk when I travel. I walk on rainy days. I even walk when I'm feeling sick. Occasionally I am able to rack up over 20,000 steps in a day, but 10,000 steps is my minimum. I think one of the days when I was hospitalized at Baylor was the last time I missed this daily goal. I've almost completed a full year of 10,000 step days with at least fifty 20,000 step days. Who knows if this is the secret to health and longevity, but I prefer to think that it makes a difference.

Hard to believe it's October already. Where has this year gone? I don't think I've accomplished anything signifiant this year but I do keep moving. I don't think Artemis is going to be ready to launch again until late November. This gives me something to plan for.

Tori is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day