Day 4949

It's been a long day. Two plumbers have been here all day installing the new water heater. I never dreamed that putting a water heater in a confined space was such a complicated procedure. Due to new code requirements, the plumbers couldn't simply duplicate the old arrangement. New water heaters have to be installed on a raised base with an overflow pan that drains to the floor drain. Too many things use the floor drain in the utility room already. Now I've got one more. 

The plumbers told me that I could no longer use the copper pipes at the top on the water heater to support a shelf. I have no shelf in the utility room now and no place to store the things that were sitting on it. The new water heater is slightly larger than the old one and takes up more space, but the good news is that we have hot water again.

I guess I shouldn't have been surprised, but the price of water heaters has more than doubled since the last time I replaced one. The plumbers were amazed at how old the leaking water heater was. "Your new one won't last that long," the lead plumber told me. I wonder what else can go wrong in this house? Probably more things than I can even imagine.

Dawn is still frightened of almost everything, but she is eating her meals and going outside to pee and poop. That's all I can ask for at this point. She was actually very good today with all the commotion going on in the house. She just stayed in the bedroom all day until the plumbers left. I was a little worried last night that Dawn wasn't coming back to the bedroom to go to sleep. We had a very brief power outage and when the lights and TV went out, it scared her and she ran to the kitchen. Basically everything seems to scare Dawn except plumbers. She seemed fine with the plumbers today.

Since I was home with the plumbers all day, I didn't get to go to the gym. It wasn't a good day to take a long walk since the temperature got up to 104 degrees. I'm hooked on getting my steps though. After dinner I took this week's trash out to the curb and then took a short walk. I walked just long enough to get 10,000 steps and returned home. No sense in being stupid. I thought it would be cooler if I waited until evening to walk. It was still 95 degrees though.

Somebody has spoofed my e-mail address and I'm seeing spam that appears to come from me in my spam folder almost every day. It's irritating. I did a little research and discovered that this type of spoofing is extremely common and very hard to stop. I'll call my hosting company again and ask them to put a stop to this. I did this once before and the spoofing stopped for about two weeks and then started all over again. I'm beginning to think that my Luddite sister who isn't on the Internet at all might have the right idea. 

Hopefully tomorrow will be uneventful. Having plumbers banging around all day in one room with a scared dog in another room was a bit stressful. I'll be glad when Janet returns home.

Watson is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4948

Not the best of days. It was 104 degrees this afternoon, our water heater started leaking and will need to be replaced, and my application to attend the Orion Media Day at Kennedy Space Center was denied. Other than that, it was just a normal Wednesday.

Dawn regressed a bit this morning. I had to put the bowl with her breakfast next to her on the bed again. She didn't want to move and is still fearful about everything. Dawn definitely isn't getting her exercise this week. She goes out in the backyard to pee several times a day and I managed to get her down to the park this morning to poop, but all she wants to do is sit on the bed.

It was too hot for another walk in the park today, so I went back to the gym after breakfast. There were people on the basketball court, so all I did was walk three miles around the indoor track and return home. I tried to find a replacement for the broken knife rack at Bed Bath and Beyond on the way home, but the store is going out of business soon and there wasn't much left. I'll have to look for the knife rack online.

I did find orange juice at Central Market, so at least I could check something off my list. When I returned home I got a rude awakening. There was water on the floor in the utility room and it was spilling out into the kitchen. I was initially puzzled since I hadn't done any laundry recently. A quick look revealed that the water was coming from the water heater. It looked like the place where the supply lines enter the heater had rusted out. 

I shut off the heater to stop the leak and we have no hot water now. A plumber is coming out tomorrow to look at things, but he pretty much confirmed that I'll need a new water heater after looking at the pictures I sent him. He also told me that the shelf that is currently above the water heater will have to be removed because it won't pass current building codes. This was a new wrinkle. The last time I replaced this water heater you didn't need a city inspection. Water heaters have gotten a lot more expensive too. Why is nothing easy anymore? I'm going to have a hard time even finding a water heater that will fit in our tiny utility room. The size and shape of these things has changed over the years.

I'm disappointed that I didn't receive credentials to attend the Orion Media Day at Kennedy Space Center, but the rejection might be a blessing in disguise. Instead of paying for a trip to Florida this month, I'll be paying for a new water heater instead. Hopefully the plumbers can take care of everything tomorrow. I hate being without hot water.

Hopefully nothing else breaks and there is no more bad news tomorrow. At least Dawn ate her dinner normally tonight. I'll feed her a bedtime snack soon and then we'll call it a day. 

Winston is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4554

Yay. We have a new dishwasher. I don't know how to use it yet, but I'll worry about that later. I'm glad I had a good plumber install this thing. Nothing is as easy as it seems and there were some complications on the installation that the Home Depot delivery crew would have probably just given up on. I wish modern electronics weren't so complicated. Old major appliances were simple and lasted forever. Everything nowadays basically has a computer inside and tends to break quickly. Our old dishwasher had a single round dial on the front. This new one looks like the control panel on the space shuttle. 

The big difference on this new machine is that there is no heater coil at the bottom of the tub to dry the dishes. This new dishwasher uses super hot water on the final rinse and then somehow vents away the moisture inside. It sounds like the dishes just air dry to me, but what do I know. I need to get some of that rinse-aid liquid that prevents streaks on glasses tomorrow. The instructions say that you need to use this stuff to ensure effective drying. Why so complicated? I would have much rather had the old fashioned electric heating coil on the bottom of the tub. Oh, well. It is what is is. Maybe I made the wrong choice but I really didn't have many options. Most dishwashers are 24" wide. The space available in my cabinet was slightly smaller than this. The LG model I bought was 23.75" wide and barely fit. The reviews on this machine were very good, although some people were frustrated about the strange drying system. I may be one of those people.

It turned out to be a very busy day. While the plumbers were here I had them fix a few other things around the house as well. There was an outdoor faucet in the back yard that had been leaking for years and a rubber cap on a drain access line that leaked even worse. Too bad they couldn't fix my strange French toilet. Parts just aren't available for that thing anymore. The plumbers were on time and everything went relatively smoothly, so we were still able to visit the rescue Dalmatians this afternoon. This whole dishwasher episode ended up costing more than I expected, but what else is new. Everything costs more than you expect these days.

The Dalmatians are all doing well. We didn't play with Rocket today because he is still recovering from his heartworm treatment. Charlie, Willie, Oliver, and JoJo were all in fine form though. I don't know why JoJo still wanted to go outside on a day like this. It was way too hot, but JoJo insists on playing outside. The other dogs were smart enough to stay in the air conditioned indoor play area. 

By the time we returned from the kennel it was way too hot to even consider walking in the park. It even seemed too hot early this morning when we were taking Dawn on her sunrise walk. I went to the gym instead. I was surprised at how many people were at the gym this afternoon. It was probably the weather. Something was wrong with the air conditioning system on the main floor today, but it was still much cooler than it was outside. I didn't stay long today. I just shot some hoops on the basketball court, walked a mile or so on the indoor track, and used the rowing and the abdominal crunch machines. Maybe I'll go back tomorrow, but I hope it is cool enough in the morning so I can walk in the park instead.

They say it's going to be a very hot summer. It certainly looks like we are headed in that direction. I just hope we don't have blackouts or major power outages this summer. With everything else that is going wrong in the world, a lack of electricity might just be enough to push me over the edge. 

Marcie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4552

Nothing is easy these days. The appliance installers arrived this morning, carried a huge box containing the new dishwasher inside the house and then told me that they couldn't install it. What? Why not? This is an easy job. You pull the old dishwasher out, attach the supply and drain lines to the new dishwasher, push it back under the counter and you're done. 

No can do, they told me. "You have copper supply lines," one of the guys said, "and we're not allowed to touch copper." I couldn't believe it. "You'll have to get a plumber to install this," the other guy told me. The installers left and I now have a very large box sitting in my living room. I called the two plumbing companies I normally use and they both told me that they charged emergency or after hours rates on weekends. Since these exorbitant rates were double what they normally charge, I decided to just wait until Monday to deal with this. I kind of wish I'd just called an appliance repairman to fix the old dishwasher now.

When I called to get my installation fee refunded I was told that I would have to go back to the store because I used two different credit cards on the transaction. I did use an old gift card I had for part of the purchase, but never realized that it would cause complications later. When I went back to the store I ended up talking to the same salesperson who sold me the dishwasher. "I warned you about copper pipes," she said. Nope. I don't think so. This thing will eventually get installed, but it has become a major nuisance.

I think we set a new high temperature record today. The thermometer on the back porch reached 106 degrees. How did the weather go from wet and cool to impossibly hot so quickly? It wasn't that long ago that the furnace was coming on in the morning. It was good that we got Dawn walked very early this morning. We weren't really trying to avoid the heat at that point. We were just trying to get everything done before the dishwasher installers arrived. At least I managed to get my grocery shopping done before everything started to unravel.

By the time I finished dealing with all the installation problems it was way too hot to walk in the park. I decided to go to the gym after I got my installation refund from the appliance store. The gym was almost empty by the time I arrived because it was getting close to closing time. I still had time to shoot some hoops on the basketball court, use the rowing machine, and walk a mile on the indoor track. It wasn't my best workout, but it will have to do.

I'm so tired of dealing with broken things I could scream. The dishwasher problems will be resolved sooner or later, and then it will be on to the next thing. It would be tempting to just tell a contractor to fix everything all at once, but we still live here. There's nothing worse than trying to go about your life in the middle of a bunch of construction. I hate all the surprises that contractors and repair people throw at you too. Few people these days are really familiar with old houses and they either don't know how to do the job right or are in too much of a hurry to do the job right. Most of these people prefer to work on new construction when the homeowner isn't even around.

We might not be able to take Dawn on her regular Sunday outing tomorrow. If we wait until the ice cream store opens, it will be too hot. Dawn will get her sunrise walk, but maybe we'll skip the later walk at our Sunday park and just go directly to the ice cream store. I don't think Dawn will have any complaints. It was almost too hot for her last week and tomorrow will be much warmer. So far, it looks like it's going to be a long, hot summer.

Willa is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 4236

Long day. When I was fixing breakfast this morning I tried to get something out of the freezer and the door wouldn't open. Something strange was going on because the door seemed welded shut. I finally pried the door open with a large screwdriver and discovered that the inside of the freezer was covered with ice. The supply line to the icemaker had broken during the night and flooded the freezer. I guess it was a good thing that the water froze because it would have flooded the house otherwise.

I shut the refrigerator off and opened the door so the ice would melt. It was a huge mess because all the food in the freezer was frozen together. I went to the storage warehouse to get a large ice cooler and then to the supermarket to get two twenty pound bags of ice. I called the appliance repairman and then started to thaw the ice with a hair dryer so I could remove the food and transfer it to the ice chest. 

Luckily the appliance repairman was able to come out today. He discovered a broken valve that was supposed to stop the flow of water from the supply line after the ice trays were filled. I tried to shut off the supply line in the  utility room, but the shut off valve above the water heater was broken too. Now I had to call a plumber before the appliance repairman could continue working. I told him to order the parts he needed and come back tomorrow. Luckily, the second plumbing company I called had someone they could send out today.

The supply line to the refrigerator has been shut off now and all the ice in the refrigerator has been removed. It was a messy, tedious job to remove all the ice and clean up the water on the floor. I suspect that there is still some ice behind a metal plate on the freezer wall that I didn't have time to remove. I was able to salvage most of the food and we didn't have to throw much away. The ice cream all turned to soup, but most of the other stuff stayed frozen. The appliance repairman returns tomorrow and hopefully we will be back in business. I could have easily bought a new refrigerator for less than the cost of all the repairs I've made over the years. Unfortunately, nobody makes refrigerators that fit in our mid-fifties kitchen anymore. I'd either have to get a cheap apartment sized refrigerator, or completely remodel the kitchen so one of today's monster refrigerators would fit. I'm so tired of fixing things, but's that's life if you live in an old house.

I was able to get my errands done before the repairman arrived, but I wasn't able to get to the gym until very late in the day. I walked three miles around the track, lifted a few weights and came home again. Dawn still got her sunrise walk. I didn't even know there was a problem when we were walking Dawn this morning. If I hadn't wanted a scoop of ice cream in my morning smoothie, I might not have known until much later. It all worked out well. It was kind of a miracle that I was able to get an appliance repairman and a plumber out to the house on the same day. The refrigerator still isn't fixed, but nothing is leaking now and we're headed in the right direction.

Dawn doesn't bark at repairmen. All our other dogs went nuts when a repairman was in the house. Dawn just slept calmly on the bed in the bedroom the entire time. So far, I seem to be the only thing that upsets this dog. Dawn is still biting her paws, but the cone seems to work pretty well to protect them. You have to be careful when you take the cone off. The minute Dawn thinks you aren't looking, she'll start going after her paws again. I'm tired and a little discouraged. I'd much rather be out at the Astronomer's Lodge looking at the night sky without a care in the world.

Penny is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3438

Good news. I got a letter from NASA today saying that my application had been accepted and that I was invited to be their guest for the next Space X Falcon Heavy launch at Kennedy Space Center. It didn't take long for me to accept the invitation. I love this program that NASA has started for bloggers and social media folks. People like me have the opportunity to apply for essentially the same press credentials that major news outlets like CNN and NBC get. NASA thinks that bloggers can reach a completely different audience than traditional media outlets and provides unique behind the scenes access for major launch, planetary, and research events. There is no way I could ever see some of the things I've experienced at these NASA events without a program like this.

I've never been to Kennedy Space Center before. Actually, I've never been to Florida before. This should be quite an experience. In addition to getting to view the launch itself, I'll be able to see the Falcon Heavy up close on the pad, talk to NASA and Space X personnel connected with the mission, and take a behind the scenes tour of Kennedy Space Center. This is kind of what I did in Houston earlier this year. When I was at the Johnson Space Center I actually got to sit inside the new Orion space capsule. I can't wait to write about this new experience.

I couldn't figure out why the toilet wasn't working right this morning. The water wasn't flowing very well. Jeez. The plumbers were just out here yesterday. I took the lid off the tank and discovered that the plumbers has left some parts inside the tank and they'd gotten stuck between the flapper and the flush valve. Were these new parts they failed to install or old parts from the fill valve they removed? I finally determined that these were old parts but these plumbers won't win any awards for neatness. It's a shame. Nobody seems to take pride in their work anymore. The toilet works fine now. Too bad I can't charge the plumbers like they charged me.

I had Corned Beef Hash for breakfast this morning. You don't see this on many menus anymore. This was a nice change of pace from the Shrimp and Grits or French Toast I usually order on these Friday morning outings. Braised corned beef brisket is good any time of day. I'm trying to expand my horizons one meal at a time. I'm just having trouble getting out of the neighborhood.

The temperature was over 90 today. I guess the low winter electric bills are over for a while. Air conditioning is expensive in Texas but at least our air conditioner is working well. Hope it survives another hot summer. When the air conditioning breaks on a hot day you don't care really what it costs to get cool air again. I don't know how people could stand to live down here before air conditioning.

I looked for the lizards again today on my walk but didn't see any. There were lots of bees though. They love the wildflowers.

Ziggy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3437

A guy stopped me on my walk this morning and wanted to show me some lizards. OK. I wasn't really looking for lizards but at least he wasn't trying to show me snakes. "Over there by that bush," the guy said. I must not have been looking in the right direction because the guy quickly added "No, not on the ground. they're walking on top of the leaves." Sure enough, there was a small, seemingly weightless lizard walking across some broad leaves. The guy told me the name of the lizard and I told him the name of the bush. It looked like the lizard was looking for small insects to eat while the bugs were just trying to eat the plants. That's how the food chain works. Everyone is trying to devour something.

The plumbers came out today and fixed my leaking shower and noisy toilet. I'm glad I didn't try to fix the shower by myself. The fixtures didn't use washers or o-rings. There were special ceramic cartridges installed in the shower faucets instead. I've seen these type of things in a kitchen faucet before, but never in a bathroom. The plumber knew what the cartridges were but didn't have any on his truck. He took the bad cartridges with him to a plumbing supply store and luckily was able to match them. The ceramic disks in the cartridges are supposed to be maintenance free, but the plumber said that grit in the supply lines can get between the disks and prevent them from closing completely. Apparently that's what happened. Our city water is notoriously full of grit and sediment. While the two plumbers were at the house I had them fix the noisy toilet too. I could have kept the plumbers at the house all day fixing small problems, but plumbers are expensive. I think I'm good for now.

I'm glad I got the plumbing problems taken care of, but I wasn't as successful with everything else. The roofer told me that he still hadn't had time to finish the estimate he started in February. My contact at the auction house must be on a trip around the world because I've been getting "out of office" auto-reply messages from him for a long time. I haven't heard from NASA yet either. I guess I've just got to be patient on that one.

It's already starting to get uncomfortably hot. I noticed that the air conditioner was running last night and the temperature has gotten over 90 degrees several times this week. It's hard to believe that it's still snowing in some parts of the country. I wish our Spring would last a little longer. It's the nicest part of the year in Texas. 90 degrees isn't so bad when you've got a little breeze. I'm not sure I'll still enjoy walking when it's 110 degrees in July. Even the dogs didn't like to go outside under those conditions.

It's been a busy day but I think I'm caught up on everything. The week's trash has been taken to the curb, I've done the laundry, and the dinner dishes have been washed. Now I need to decide where to go to breakfast tomorrow. I hope I manage to come up with something better than I did last week.

Willie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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