Back into our home routine; ‘Last Chance Harvey’; ‘Terry Fater: Live from Las Vegas’ ; ‘W’ ; New clothes dryer
(posted from home)
(This post covers 30 October – 6 November, 2009)
----------------------------------------------------------
Friday, 6 November-
Today we re-leveled our stove and fridge. The door on the fridge has decided to not fully close so we took it off the hinges, greased the hinge-pins and re-assembled, then played with the leveling legs until it now closes on its own.
Since we had the leveling tools out we also leveled the stove so it no longer tends to pool the melting butter on the frying pan at the front of the pan (apparently a pet peeve of Labashi’s!).
I also took care of a few chores--- starting the KLR motorcycle with a shot of Sta-Bil in the tank; scheduling tax appointments; working on a printing problem for the Mac Book Pro and catching up the blog.
In the afternoon I walked my six-mile loop, then that evening we watched several ‘Pushing Daisies’-Season One episodes.
----------------------------------------------------------
Thursday, 5 November-
This morning we returned a dryer exhaust pipe to Sears. One odd thing about their delivery system is we were required to buy an installation kit consisting of an electrical cord and 4” exhaust pipe. If either isn’t needed, it can be returned, but must be available for the installer, just in case. That doesn’t sound too onerous since we could do the return whenever we had occasion to come back into town. But today was the day the computerized cash register chose to freeze up during the return process and caused a half-hour of hassle while they worked through that.
I also started looking for an espresso machine. I’ve taken a liking to cappuccinos (now that I can only have the very-occasional Frappacino) and would like to try making them at home. After finding machines at Wal-mart and Sears I researched them on Amazon, Consumer Reports, and CoffeeGeek.com and found those aren’t likely to give acceptable results.
The better machines are in the $250 range and if I’m to believe CoffeeGeek, I’d have to spend that much again for an acceptable grinder to make espresso worth drinking. Yikes!
I also tried to buy Doubleshot Lights (I can’t have the regular Doubleshots because of high carb content) at my local grocery store and at Wal-mart. I saw them in Nebraska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, and California on our trip. From my winter trips, I know I can get them in Florida and (I believe), the Carolinas. My local Wal-mart says they can’t order them and I’m guessing that’s going to also be the answer from my local Giant.
That evening we were each busy on the web until late, then caught three 30-Rock episodes before turning in. I’m reading ‘Jaguars Ripped My Flesh’ by Tim Cahill, a late-80’s book from my bookshelf. Tim was one of my favorite writers as a columnist for Outside Magazine in its early days.
----------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday, 4 November-
Today we worked on the web and did some chores while awaiting our dryer delivery. I had started a round of battery-charging for the motorcycles and boat batteries so had some dis-connecting and re-connecting to do.
The delivery went off without a hitch and only took about 20 minutes total for delivery, installation, haulaway, and paperwork. The delivery guys really had their act together.
I spent an inordinate amount of my afternoon washing our old sailboat. The humid summer weather had caused it to develop a coating of mossy growth which took a long time to fully remove. I’m glad to see the solar ventilation fan is still running. I think that’s two years old now.
No walk or movie today.
---------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday, 3 November-
We voted in the judges-and-local-officials election today, then drove on into town to buy a dryer. We chose a Kenmore 800-series model with a heat sensor and moisture sensor. It was rated a Best Buy by Consumer Reports and Labashi’s very happy with the controls, features, and layout (not to mention the 20%-off sale!). We were surprised to learn we could have it delivered tomorrow and both the delivery and haulaway charges would be rebated.
Back home I walked my six-mile loop again and then that evening we watched four episodes of ‘30 Rock’ Season One. I had watched this season online on Netflix Instant Movies but Labashi wasn’t available at the time and I thought she’d like it (and that indeed is the case).
----------------------------------------------------------
Monday, 2 November-
Labashi spent the morning researching dryers and then went shopping for groceries. I spent the morning on the web, mostly with Overland Journal and its links. This is a great find for me. Overland Journal tends to concentrate on Land Rovers, Jeeps, and FJ Cruisers but has many articles about foreign travel as well as equipment suitable for traveling in our van.
That afternoon I walked my six-mile loop. I had a close call with a dog at the far end of the loop. I’ve seen this dog once in a while and always walk the far side of the road from it but today it charged across the road at me. Fortunately the owner was outside and yelled at it in the nick of time. However, the owner completely ignored me but yelled at his dog about running out onto the road. He didn’t care about the dog nearly attacking me; he just didn’t want the dog hit by a car! It’s time for me to start taking along my little can of dog-spray. (We bought this dog spray called “Halt!” at the North American Bear Center in Ely, Minnesota. That’s what the bear researchers there use to deter black bears. We also have a stronger pepper spray we bought at Glacier National Park for grizzlies).
That evening we watched the Oliver Stone movie “W” with Josh Brolin. Good movie! I was afraid Mr. Stone might stray far into caricature-land, particularly with the malapropisms in the President’s speeches but I didn’t feel that happened. Josh Brolin’s portrayal of W is noteworthy and Richard Dreyfuss’s Dick Cheney seemed spot-on.
We also watched a ’30 Rock- Season One’ episode.
----------------------------------------------------------
Sunday, 1 November-
Today Labashi and I went shopping for a dryer. After a bit of research on the internet, we went to Lowe’s, Home Depot, and Sears. I was interested in a GE but the door fit was inexplicably poor compared to the other brands. We ended up tentatively picking a Sears dryer but Labashi will do some research on Consumer Reports before we actually buy. In the meantime, she’s air-drying our relatively small amount of laundry.
While in town we had an early supper at Texas Roadhouse and agreed they have the very best ribs and rib sauce right here at home.
We returned home in time for me to walk my four-mile course along the creek.
That evening we watched the extras on the ‘Planet Earth’ DVD set.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Saturday, 31 October-
This morning I finished processing the mail and took care of mailing checks for things like auto registrations. I also updated the MacBook Pro’s software and ran a thorough security scan on the XP laptop (which now takes several hours to wade through a check of its 650,000 files!!!!).
Yesterday evening Labashi had found our dryer no longer tumbles so I pulled it out and tried to find some reason for that. I couldn’t find anything but I’m also not about to turn it over to an appliance shop. Looks like it’s time for a new one.
But I do have to say we’re happy with the service this old Kenmore gave us. We had that dryer in our previous house and we moved here more than twenty-eight years ago! We bought it two to three years before moving here so it has been working fine for over 30 years. Thank you, Mr. Sears and Mr. Roebuck!
That evening we watched ‘Terry Fater: Live from Las Vegas’ on DVD. We had seen billboard after billboard in Las Vegas advertising Terry’s live show but we didn’t know anything about him. But when I saw this DVD in our local video rental store, I thought we’d give him a try.
Terry’s act is largely a puppet act and it’s funny but his singing impressions are amazing. He has his puppets ‘sing’, which of course, he’s doing without moving his lips. Recommended.
------------------------------------------------------------
Friday, 30 October-
While we’re away our mail is delivered to a neighbor and he very kindly sends us a weekly summary of the mail as well as any interesting local developments (like updates on the new Wal-mart going in at Etters). If something important comes in, he emails us immediately and if it were really, really hot, he has our cell phone numbers.
Even so, we’re a bit apprehensive when we get our big box of mail when we return home. Who knows what little surprises await?
So I spent today starting to go through the mail looking for ‘gotchas’. And this time it was a new one.
When we’re away for more than a month, I have the cable tv and internet disconnected on a ‘seasonal disconnect’. But to prevent them from deleting my email account, I pay for what the internet provider calls a ‘Mail-Me’ account for $5 a month.
Our cable and internet bills are on auto-pay so I was very surprised to see notices from both the cable and internet companies, one threatening to turn a bill for $2.29 over to a collection agency and the other assessing a late charge of $2 to my bill for $10.
After a few calls I learned that auto-pay is automatically cut off when the subscriber is disconnected, even if it’s a seasonal disconnect. So even though I explained I’d be away for two months, they sent me paper bills and then dunning notices.
Once I explained what had happened, the two companies squared it away. The threat of turning the $2.29 bill over to a collection agency was an empty one (it turns out) and the late charge was dropped.
That evening we watched ‘Last Chance Harvey’ with Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson. Good one!
********************* END OF POST *****************
(posted from home)
(This post covers 30 October – 6 November, 2009)
----------------------------------------------------------
Friday, 6 November-
Today we re-leveled our stove and fridge. The door on the fridge has decided to not fully close so we took it off the hinges, greased the hinge-pins and re-assembled, then played with the leveling legs until it now closes on its own.
Since we had the leveling tools out we also leveled the stove so it no longer tends to pool the melting butter on the frying pan at the front of the pan (apparently a pet peeve of Labashi’s!).
I also took care of a few chores--- starting the KLR motorcycle with a shot of Sta-Bil in the tank; scheduling tax appointments; working on a printing problem for the Mac Book Pro and catching up the blog.
In the afternoon I walked my six-mile loop, then that evening we watched several ‘Pushing Daisies’-Season One episodes.
----------------------------------------------------------
Thursday, 5 November-
This morning we returned a dryer exhaust pipe to Sears. One odd thing about their delivery system is we were required to buy an installation kit consisting of an electrical cord and 4” exhaust pipe. If either isn’t needed, it can be returned, but must be available for the installer, just in case. That doesn’t sound too onerous since we could do the return whenever we had occasion to come back into town. But today was the day the computerized cash register chose to freeze up during the return process and caused a half-hour of hassle while they worked through that.
I also started looking for an espresso machine. I’ve taken a liking to cappuccinos (now that I can only have the very-occasional Frappacino) and would like to try making them at home. After finding machines at Wal-mart and Sears I researched them on Amazon, Consumer Reports, and CoffeeGeek.com and found those aren’t likely to give acceptable results.
The better machines are in the $250 range and if I’m to believe CoffeeGeek, I’d have to spend that much again for an acceptable grinder to make espresso worth drinking. Yikes!
I also tried to buy Doubleshot Lights (I can’t have the regular Doubleshots because of high carb content) at my local grocery store and at Wal-mart. I saw them in Nebraska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, and California on our trip. From my winter trips, I know I can get them in Florida and (I believe), the Carolinas. My local Wal-mart says they can’t order them and I’m guessing that’s going to also be the answer from my local Giant.
That evening we were each busy on the web until late, then caught three 30-Rock episodes before turning in. I’m reading ‘Jaguars Ripped My Flesh’ by Tim Cahill, a late-80’s book from my bookshelf. Tim was one of my favorite writers as a columnist for Outside Magazine in its early days.
----------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday, 4 November-
Today we worked on the web and did some chores while awaiting our dryer delivery. I had started a round of battery-charging for the motorcycles and boat batteries so had some dis-connecting and re-connecting to do.
The delivery went off without a hitch and only took about 20 minutes total for delivery, installation, haulaway, and paperwork. The delivery guys really had their act together.
I spent an inordinate amount of my afternoon washing our old sailboat. The humid summer weather had caused it to develop a coating of mossy growth which took a long time to fully remove. I’m glad to see the solar ventilation fan is still running. I think that’s two years old now.
No walk or movie today.
---------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday, 3 November-
We voted in the judges-and-local-officials election today, then drove on into town to buy a dryer. We chose a Kenmore 800-series model with a heat sensor and moisture sensor. It was rated a Best Buy by Consumer Reports and Labashi’s very happy with the controls, features, and layout (not to mention the 20%-off sale!). We were surprised to learn we could have it delivered tomorrow and both the delivery and haulaway charges would be rebated.
Back home I walked my six-mile loop again and then that evening we watched four episodes of ‘30 Rock’ Season One. I had watched this season online on Netflix Instant Movies but Labashi wasn’t available at the time and I thought she’d like it (and that indeed is the case).
----------------------------------------------------------
Monday, 2 November-
Labashi spent the morning researching dryers and then went shopping for groceries. I spent the morning on the web, mostly with Overland Journal and its links. This is a great find for me. Overland Journal tends to concentrate on Land Rovers, Jeeps, and FJ Cruisers but has many articles about foreign travel as well as equipment suitable for traveling in our van.
That afternoon I walked my six-mile loop. I had a close call with a dog at the far end of the loop. I’ve seen this dog once in a while and always walk the far side of the road from it but today it charged across the road at me. Fortunately the owner was outside and yelled at it in the nick of time. However, the owner completely ignored me but yelled at his dog about running out onto the road. He didn’t care about the dog nearly attacking me; he just didn’t want the dog hit by a car! It’s time for me to start taking along my little can of dog-spray. (We bought this dog spray called “Halt!” at the North American Bear Center in Ely, Minnesota. That’s what the bear researchers there use to deter black bears. We also have a stronger pepper spray we bought at Glacier National Park for grizzlies).
That evening we watched the Oliver Stone movie “W” with Josh Brolin. Good movie! I was afraid Mr. Stone might stray far into caricature-land, particularly with the malapropisms in the President’s speeches but I didn’t feel that happened. Josh Brolin’s portrayal of W is noteworthy and Richard Dreyfuss’s Dick Cheney seemed spot-on.
We also watched a ’30 Rock- Season One’ episode.
----------------------------------------------------------
Sunday, 1 November-
Today Labashi and I went shopping for a dryer. After a bit of research on the internet, we went to Lowe’s, Home Depot, and Sears. I was interested in a GE but the door fit was inexplicably poor compared to the other brands. We ended up tentatively picking a Sears dryer but Labashi will do some research on Consumer Reports before we actually buy. In the meantime, she’s air-drying our relatively small amount of laundry.
While in town we had an early supper at Texas Roadhouse and agreed they have the very best ribs and rib sauce right here at home.
We returned home in time for me to walk my four-mile course along the creek.
That evening we watched the extras on the ‘Planet Earth’ DVD set.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Saturday, 31 October-
This morning I finished processing the mail and took care of mailing checks for things like auto registrations. I also updated the MacBook Pro’s software and ran a thorough security scan on the XP laptop (which now takes several hours to wade through a check of its 650,000 files!!!!).
Yesterday evening Labashi had found our dryer no longer tumbles so I pulled it out and tried to find some reason for that. I couldn’t find anything but I’m also not about to turn it over to an appliance shop. Looks like it’s time for a new one.
But I do have to say we’re happy with the service this old Kenmore gave us. We had that dryer in our previous house and we moved here more than twenty-eight years ago! We bought it two to three years before moving here so it has been working fine for over 30 years. Thank you, Mr. Sears and Mr. Roebuck!
That evening we watched ‘Terry Fater: Live from Las Vegas’ on DVD. We had seen billboard after billboard in Las Vegas advertising Terry’s live show but we didn’t know anything about him. But when I saw this DVD in our local video rental store, I thought we’d give him a try.
Terry’s act is largely a puppet act and it’s funny but his singing impressions are amazing. He has his puppets ‘sing’, which of course, he’s doing without moving his lips. Recommended.
------------------------------------------------------------
Friday, 30 October-
While we’re away our mail is delivered to a neighbor and he very kindly sends us a weekly summary of the mail as well as any interesting local developments (like updates on the new Wal-mart going in at Etters). If something important comes in, he emails us immediately and if it were really, really hot, he has our cell phone numbers.
Even so, we’re a bit apprehensive when we get our big box of mail when we return home. Who knows what little surprises await?
So I spent today starting to go through the mail looking for ‘gotchas’. And this time it was a new one.
When we’re away for more than a month, I have the cable tv and internet disconnected on a ‘seasonal disconnect’. But to prevent them from deleting my email account, I pay for what the internet provider calls a ‘Mail-Me’ account for $5 a month.
Our cable and internet bills are on auto-pay so I was very surprised to see notices from both the cable and internet companies, one threatening to turn a bill for $2.29 over to a collection agency and the other assessing a late charge of $2 to my bill for $10.
After a few calls I learned that auto-pay is automatically cut off when the subscriber is disconnected, even if it’s a seasonal disconnect. So even though I explained I’d be away for two months, they sent me paper bills and then dunning notices.
Once I explained what had happened, the two companies squared it away. The threat of turning the $2.29 bill over to a collection agency was an empty one (it turns out) and the late charge was dropped.
That evening we watched ‘Last Chance Harvey’ with Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson. Good one!
********************* END OF POST *****************
posted by Bezabor&Labashi | 17:49
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