Some Like it Hot

Or... We Are in Hot Water Now!

So, we sorta moved into our new home, just down the street from our previous home, in December. I think we spent about 5 days in the new home before returning to Florida. I flew back for a week in February, and then again in June/July. One thing we noticed was just how long it would take for hot water to actually reach the faucet in the kitchen, or the shower in the Master Bath. We'd set the shower,  then go get undressed, and grab a towel, and look for special shampoo. We'd test the water... still not hot. So we'd go find the shower scrubby, and the special shower cleaner, then test the water... still not hot. So we'd go back to the closet to get the bath robe, and brush our teeth... and finally, we'd stick a toe in the water and it was warm! Hallelujah!

OK, so we chalked it up to this being what it was... until we looked at the water heater in the garage. It had an extra piece on it. Upon inspection we learned that it was a water circulation pump (Oh, how I love the Internet!). It was set to circulate the hot water through the pipes in the morning and in the evening. However... that was not happening!

Our Realtor was kind enough to give us a home warranty. There is a $75 per repair charge. We didn't expect much, but called the number.  Shortly after we received a phone call; the repair guy was on his way. He arrived shortly thereafter. He quickly assessed the problem, cleaned the impellers on the recirculating pump, and we found ourselves in hot water in less than an hour!!

Now, when it is time to wash dishes, or take a shower, or wash our hands.... we have instant hot water. It makes us both smile!

(OK... so this may not be such a huge deal where you live, but water is at a premium in Northern California.  Every drop that is lost going down the drain makes me cringe. Now... no cringing as I wait!)

P.S. Three days later the pump failed. Picture a sad face. No more instant hot water. Back to waiting. However, the good news is that the service is guaranteed. So, we'll see Mr. Repair Guy when he returns for a visit!

Florida is Flat; On the Other Hand...

As much as I like to complain about having to walk the dogs it does get me out at least twice a day, and I get to see a lot of wonderful things. Here are just a few of the shots from this year:

Hey, Gypsy... what do you think we will see around the corner?

We see beautiful misty mornings....

And sniff snails crossing the trail.

And decorated camp sites.

We've seen mama and her twins.

And birds taking flight.

We've intimidated turtles.

We've seen the sun going down...

And we've seen the Denver skyline at night.

We generally go for a long walk in the morning, walking a few miles, and the evening walk is usually a bit shorter.

In Florida we circle in and out of the streets in our neighborhood, we traverse a few pedestrian bridges that cross small lagoons, and we walk along the Caloosahatchie River and through a lovely glade of trees. The greatest change in elevation is probably 3 feet, when I cross one of the bridges. Otherwise, the land is flat! Flat as a pancake!

When we are on the road we have the opportunity to see many new sites, smell new smells and walk new paths. Sometimes we simply walk around the campground. Other places we head out the gates to see what we can see. Recently we walked between a newly planted pecan grove and an older, established pistachio grove. We have walked around lakes and next to rivers. We've walked along highways and on mountain paths.

And now, we continue our morning and evening walks up and down the hills around our California home.

Tucker: Let's go up the hill!
Gypsy: Let's go down the hill!

I don't know about the dogs, but my legs are not used to this!

I Have a Feeling We're Not in Kansas (Florida...Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona) Anymore

After 10 days and over 3100 miles we have arrived at our house in Point Richmond, CA. However, it may be "our" house... but the dogs have never been here before. They don't know that this is "our" house. They were very confused for a bit of time.

When we arrived in the neighborhood (recall, we moved from one house to another in December. We moved about 125 feet. The dogs were not with us when we moved, and had not been with us when we occupied the "new" house.) we pulled into the parking area of the new home. We let the dogs out... well, we opened the door to the truck. Tucker jumped out and with a certain degree of hesitation and confusion, began to head down the street to our former home. Gypsy refused to leave the truck!

Finally after three days they are beginning to settle into the house and back into the routines we established last year.

Of course,  a visit from "their" boy made everything better!

Let's Eliminate Texas

... apologies to all of my friends who live in Texas, but honestly....

If it weren't for Texas... we'd almost be there by now! (Hmmm, if we lived in Texas, we would be home by now!)

I've written about our trips through Texas, 881.5 miles of it (on I-10) before. Here are a few posts from the past:

The Texas Two-Step
Van Horn Texas
Where Cotton is King
What's Good for the Goose

We don't like to drive more than 400 or so miles a day... usually a bit less. So, Texas takes at least 3 days. On the western side of the state, along I-10, we also have to be careful about sites for camping, oh, and gas stations. There are a lot of miles with only a sparse number of campgrounds that we would choose to stay at and fuel stations sometimes are few and far between.
The trek through Texas is long, and I'd like to say it's boring, but there is a lot of diversity in those 881.5 miles: green and lush, and flat, on the eastern side, arid and dry, with hills and lots of rock and arid mountains on the western end. Amazing wild flowers in the median of the Interstate in the spring. Large cities: Houston and San Antonio on I-10 and Dallas/Fort Worth on I-20, each with too much traffic, a lot of road construction, and sudden lane changes that are challenging in a car, and terrifying in a motorhome or towing a trailer. And... the traffic is always an issue, no matter the time of day or the direction one is traveling!
Recently it was announced that MAD magazine would no longer publish new material. The magazine  is/was almost as old as I am. But, one of the most intriguing features in the magazine, one that I loved as a kid, was the fold in found on the inside back cover of the magazine.

I am so wishing that we could create a new map, and "fold in" Texas, allowing us to travel from Louisiana directly to New Mexico!

California Here I Come

We originally planed to leave our Florida home in May so we could enjoy spring in the Bay Area at our new home in Point Richmond. That didn't happen, as we were delayed by the wait for the truck windshield. Then, the Mister needed his annual blood-letting to determine if the Doctor could safely renew his prescriptions. One of his numbers came back outside of the normal range. His Doc wanted him to see a specialist... another few weeks of waiting... then the specialist wanted an MRI... another week of waiting... then the follow-up appointment... more waiting!
I decided that despite windshield woes and medical stuff going on... I was going to CA - without my guy. I hopped on a plane and enjoyed just over a week with grand kids, kids, friends and family, before returning to Florida... where all the medical results are good and we are finally ready to pack up and head back to CA!

Here's just a bit of what I did on my "vacation"...

• I visited two different ukelele meet-up jam sessions with the "other grandmother"
• I played with the kids
• I went to the zoo with the kids and the other grandmother
• I played Mahjong with my CA friends
• I pulled weeds
• I watched the Richmond fireworks on July 3 from the Red Oak Victory ship
• I played ping-pong with a group at "Rigger's Loft" - a local winery
• I enjoyed a few family dinners
• I completed a quilt on the long arm
• I watched ships go in and out of the harbor...

Here are a few pictures of my days in CA...

Nonna Holly joins in the Ukelele sing-along with a little help from Kellan

Alexis in imaginative play

Alexis in a contemplative mood

Kellan's first carousel ride at the Oakland Zoo

What a fantastic view of Oakland, SF Bay and San Francisco from the Oakland Zoo  gondola

Alexis chose the eagle on the carousel

Richmond fireworks celebrations from the Red Oak Victory Ship

Fun play in the back yard

Back yard looking east - BEFORE

Back Yard  looking West - BEFORE

Back yard looking East - AFTER weeding

Back yard looking West - AFTER Weeding

Ship coming into Richmond Harbor as viewed from the kitchen

Now it's time to pack up and put away... and get on the road for adventures as we head west.

A Mouse in the....

I have struggled with my laptop for a few months. The space bar, and a few other keys in the same area, have not worked reliably. I figured I had crumbs and dirt under the keys, and they were impeding the motion of the keys so that the whatchamacallit under the spacebar wasn't hitting the whadingy below and sending an electronic message to the whoseywhatsit. Whenever I typed, I had to watch what was registering, so that I could hit the space bar again, and again... however many times it took to "click"! It was very annoying. I tried vacuuming the keyboard. I used the upholstery brush with the vacuum. All to no avail.

Plan B... I'll use my iPad. I opened it, and the start-up screen with the Apple on it appears... and doesn't disappear. Another time it started blinking. I Googled "my iPad opens with the start-up screen but doesn't do anything." I tried some of the fixes I found online and was able to get it up and running a few times, but it kept coming back to the Apple, despite my fixes and my updating software.

I Googled "my MAC book space bar doesn't always work" to see if there was a recommended "fix". (What would I do without Google?!) It turnes out that to keep the slim profile of the MAC machines, a different "spring" was developed to create the same feel as a regular keyboard. This "Butterly" spring has developed a high rate of failure. Ah hah! It wasn't necessarily crumbs impeding the movement.

So, I made an appointment at the closest Apple Store Genious Bar... for my laptop AND my iPad.

The iPad turned out to be a bit more problematic than the MAC book. The technician plugged it into his computer so that it could run diagnostics. It didn't work. He pulled out a different cord, and tried again. It didn't work. He found another computer, and tried again. It didn't work. He borrowed another cord from a coworker... ta daaaaa! It finally ran the diagnostics. However, despite the diagnostics apparently finding the problem, the iPad would not progress past the Apple start-up screen. As my iPad was still under extended warranty (I am so glad that I bought Apple Care) I was given a new, refurbished unit.

Next, the technician tackled my laptop issue. He tried the keys and agreed they did not work correctly. He took the unit into the back to open it up and have a look. When he returned, I asked if the problem I was experiencing was due to the mice. He looked at me with a quizzical expression. I pointed out that with the amount of crumbs that were probably under the keys, there must be a family of mice in there as well. He laughed, and assured me that there were no mice, probably because the snake that had moved in had taken care of the mouse population!

I had to leave my laptop at the store. I received a notification the next morning that it was ready for pick-up. I am now typing on my repaired laptop which has remarkably springy keys and a spacebar that works! Hallelujah! 

La Reunion

Fui a Rochester en un avion una día después de tener una ventana nueva.  (I went to Rochester in a plane one day after we have a new window.... haven't been introduced to "windshield" yet, and verb tenses are still beyond my reach!)

Was it only a coincidence that the windshield arrived a day or so after the Mister told the expediter that the lane sense was having trouble reading the lanes due to the crack, and sometimes tried to turn him into a different lane, and perhaps this was unsafe? Hmm....

But anyway, I had my reservations to fly, so fly I did. Sarah and I had planned to stay at the same hotel. She was driving up from New York as she wanted to stop and see some of her friends on the way. I took a Lyft to the hotel, and walked into the lobby at the same time that she walked in from the parking garage! We went off to the first event for the reunion weekend, a reception at the School President's house. It was delightful. There were about 6 folks from my class, and a few from classes ahead or behind my class. I also met Jim Townsend. He is a friend of Lani and Jim Ulrich, good friends who live at RiverBend in the winter. How uncanny that they discovered he was going to a HS reunion... and then, it turned out, we were going to the same HS reunion!

The next morning we had breakfast with my 10th grade sweetie and his family. It was fun to catch up with him, and to meet his daughters. Bethany, his oldest, lives in San Francisco. I would love to visit with her again... and, just maybe, get David in the picture, too! (Can you hear strains of "Matchmaker, matchmaker... make me a match?!)

The most impressive part of our visit was seeing a video about a Harley elective, "Hospice". Students learn how to provide hospice care and volunteer at different facilities in the area. The learning goes so far beyond the care aspects. It sounds like a phenomenal program. The founder of the program, Bob Kane, sent a letter to be read at the event. He sent his apologies about not being able to come to the event, and hoped that we enjoyed the video. He explained that chemo has done all that it can for him, and he is now on hospice. I am thinking that every student he touched with this program would give anything to be his hospice provider, as he enriched their lives in such an unusual way and they have a much different view about the end of life. Wow!

It was a great weekend. Talk, talk, talk, talk, talk.... trying to catch up with some kids... er, old people,  we hadn't seen in decades! I am so glad that I went.

Following the reunion, since I was "in the neighborhood" I flew to Manchester, NH to see my BFF, Marjie. More talk, talk, talk... and we did some quilting on her long-arm machine.

 Some pictures of the weekend:

An obligatory stop at my old home. This tree used to be 6" in diameter, at most!

John, Laura, Rick, Burch, Cindy, Bill, Me, Laurie, Sarah

Jim Townsend and me

Bethany, Jim, Me, Sarah & Katie

Jim and Katie

Yummy dinner! 

F: John Rick, Gary, Laura, Liz, John, Laurie
Me, Sarah, Burch, Bill & Dave

Our project 

Cuteness on the plane. His owner didn't realize he was coming for a visit!

The Caloosahatchee River just a few hundred feet west of RiverBend