Day 4814

I canceled today's appliance repair appointment because the dryer seems to be working fine again. I've done several loads of laundry and the problem seems to have disappeared. I have no idea what happened, but that's not surprising. A lot of things in life are a mystery to me. The roofers were a no show again today. They said they might be able to come over this afternoon, but didn't. They did send me a PDF file with their estimate though. Yes, it's quite expensive.

It was very warm again today. The temperature got up to over eighty degrees. This was another one of those days where the furnace was on when we woke up and the air conditioner was on most of the afternoon. I wore shorts and a t-shirt on my long walk and was still a bit hot by the time I returned home. No complaints though. I hope this is a sign of an early Spring.

I had to go up on the roof and sweep away the remaining standing water to get the leak in the office to stop. Most of the roof was dry, but there is a stubborn low spot right over the office where water lingers long after the rain has gone. The problem with this time of year is that I have to clear away this water over and over again. Sadly, there is more rain in the forecast for tomorrow and Thursday.

I had to pick up a prescription today and the pharmacy staff were all in a bad mood. Usually these guys are very friendly. I ended up paying a higher price for my pills because they said it would take an extra thirty minutes if I wanted to compare prices using GoodRx. Strange. I always do this and it doesn't take any extra time at all. There was a big sign advertising free Covid test kits, but when I asked for some they said I had to fill out a bunch of paperwork to see if I qualified. Never mind. We've got a boatload of those test kits lying around the house already. This was all very disorientating because these guys are usually very helpful.

The construction crews are almost finished paving the service road through the park. I'll miss them because it gave me something interesting to look at while I walked. Pretty soon there will be lots to look at. I noticed today that daffodils are already blooming. This means that the Spring wildflowers will start to appear soon. I hope that there isn't a late March freeze that kills everything off. So far, it looks like we are headed for an early Spring.

There's been lots of activity down at Kennedy Space Center lately. It makes me wish I was down there. I wouldn't mind being one of the regular launch photographers who seem to be out covering every single launch. It's a somewhat silly activity, but strangely satisfying. Titusville is a nice town too. It's not too big and not too small. I could easily imagine living there. We're not going anywhere though. Moving is for younger people. I've lived several places over the years and basically one place is the same as the next. It makes more sense to settle down and learn to love where you're at. I'm glad I left Seattle though. Seattle has really gone downhill.

I'm hoping that we don't get a lot of rain tomorrow. I'm really tired of climbing up on the roof to sweep away the standing water. It makes me feel like Sisyphus, pushing that boulder eternally up the hill.

Connor is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4093

It was not an auspicious day. Right after breakfast I did a load of laundry and halfway through the wash cycle the washing machine broke. The drum was full of soapy water and just quit turning. I watched the timer count down to zero, but nothine else was working at all. I had to fish all the wet clothes out of the water, put them in a big plastic tub and take them to the laundromat. I called an appliance repair shop I've used in the past, but they can't get a technician out until tomorrow. I asked for the same repair guy who had come out to the house before, but he didn't work there anymore. This always happens. It's almost impossible to get the same plumber, HVAC tech, or appliance repairman. These guys move around a lot. I suspect this is because their employers don't pay them enough. At any rate, I'll meet someone new tomorrow. I hope he's good.

Laundromats are strange places. It's easy to forget that lots of people still don't have washer/dryers in their homes. They fill their cars with large piles of laundry and come to the laundromat. I used to use a laundromat when I was young and lived in an apartment building. Often it was just easier to go to a laundromat than to try to use the small and inadequate laundry room provided by the building. Maybe a lot of the people I saw today live in these types of apartments. Maybe they live in rent houses where the landlord doesn't provide washer/dryer hookups. Laundromats are always pretty full and they are universally depressing.

As I was getting ready to put my load of clothes in one of the laundromat dryers, I remembered that there was nothing wrong with our dryer at home. I put the wet clothes back in the plastic tub and returned home.  While the clothes were drying I got the electric lawn mower working and cut back all the dead Asian Jasmine in the back yard. This was a harder job than I anticipated because I haven't trimmed the ground cover for several years and it has become very overgrown. Actually, I think you are supposed to cut back Asian Jasmine at the end of every winter. The landscape people used to do this when they took care of the yard. I think trimming these bushes encourages new growth. There are lots of other decorative plants that look like they got killed by the freeze. I'm going to leave them alone for a while and hope that they start to grow again.

I don't think I'll have long to wait. When I took my long walk today, I noticed that there were Daffodils and Grape Hyacinth blooming in the park. These are usually the first flowers to bloom every Spring, but it won't be long before the fields behind our house are covered in wildflowers. I enjoy photographing wildflowers because they don't move or fly away. At various times I've tried to learn the names of the hundreds of different wildflowers I see in the park. I've probably forgotten more names than I can currently identify.

Today wasn't a good day for my feet. Both feet hurt today. I'm walking slower now, which makes my Fitbit and Apple Watch think that I'm not getting as much exercise as I should. This is frustrating to me because these slow painful walks are much more strenuous and tiring than the old days when I wasn't even aware of my feet. My Fitbit doesn't seem to know what I'm going through. It keeps urging me to go faster.

I hope the repairman can fix the washing machine tomorrow. Sometimes you get lucky and they have the part you need on the truck. Other times they have to order parts from a warehouse and you can end up waiting days or even weeks to get up and running again. I wish major appliances were more reliable. We have a microwave that has worked flawlessly for 30 years. Our television has never broken. I can't say the same for the washing machine. I think this will be the fourth service call for this machine.

Val is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day