I forgot the plumber was coming today to replace our leaking water heater. I had not cleared the area in front of it, so he moved a filing cabinet, took shelves down, and I found places to put the stuff and that wasn’t easy because our garage is a 3rd world scrap heap. The tile floor underneath was gross. I got on my knees to scrub it down. Some stains still remained when I stopped. I forgot to use gloves. No water, so I cleaned them with wipes. Also, while down there, I noticed that the space behind the clothes washer was also gross. Maybe I can sort of clean it without moving the washer. But not today.

There was a temporary fear that the new heater would be too large for the space, but a review of the measurements put that to rest. Ed wanted metal, not PVC pipes, and the plumber had copper but when he handled it, the copper split, and his assistant had to go to their storage unit to get what was wanted and that delayed the process by another 1 – 2 hours. The plumber went down the street to install a garbage disposal and said he would be back. Meanwhile, I played the piano because that is what I do when stressed. Mostly I worked on the Chopin Revolutionary Etude – it is so physically demanding that I have to keep after it or it sounds awful. And despite the fact that I apply turmeric essential oil to my hands at night and wrap them, my thumbs were hurting.

I promised myself a warm bath when the water was back, but it takes a while for the water to heat so I put that off and now it is too late. At least we are having leftover Mexican food from El Toro for dinner and I don’t have to (shudder) COOK.

Ed went to get his oil changed on the Toyota Highlander and while there the mechanic discovered that his brakes were shot. So he got them replaced, $$$. It seems our sprinklers use well water that is acidic and that did the damage. Ed now has to park in a different area in the driveway. So I drive up next to his car and park there, but that reduces the space that I need to drag the trash barrel out for pick up. Speaking of that, I was too late with it yesterday, so it wasn’t picked up (I HATE when that happens) so I stockpiled it outside on the side of the house and dragged in another older trash bin to use for the week. And Ed didn’t recognize it, said it wasn’t ours and I said why was it on the side of our house? Meanwhile I don’t see the sprinklers and Ed says they are there and sunk into the soil, covered by grass. Huh.

Oh, my car died a few days ago. Ed bought a jump starter, got it running, and insisted that I couldn’t just let it run while sitting in the driveway – he said I should drive it to Bokeelia (round trip an hour) so I did that, which totally messed up my afternoon. Meanwhile, I was super careful to be sure no lights were on, and the trunk was properly closed, but a day ago, it was dead again, so I thought the problem was more complicated and called Triple A. They said the battery was shot and replaced it at no cost because the warranty was still in place. I have no complaints.

The local Democrats love me and I wrote them today that I was not up to volunteering. I said I write and publish progressive opinions and they should be happy with that. Also I am unhappy that the hands-on editor in charge of the mail bag at the paper wrote me that he is leaving, last day, today. I’ve had a good relationship with him. Bummer.

Then I wrote to one of those outfits that e mail you that “these two ingredients” will solve your problem, and they have a video. So I wrote them I don’t watch videos that go on an hour just so they can sell you something. I said if they gave a rat’s ass about my health, they would put all the info in paragraph one. I don’t think they’ll listen, but I felt good writing them.

xx, Teal