First World Problems and Foliage

Yesterday was trying, one of those days when you end up having dinner at 10 pm.  Yes, I know, these are first world problems.

The Arizona room has three outlets on a 20 amp circuit.  They all died on Friday, late in the after noon.  The washer/dryer in the Arizona room was still working, but it is on its own circuit breaker.  So, we deduced (wrongly, as it turned out) that the breaker must have died.  If you open the door on the microwave in Spokane without hitting the cancel button, it not only flips the breaker, it kills it.  We're down the curve on replacing breakers. Off to Lowes, buy the breaker, get it home and installed, and we discover that the screw that holds down the wire will not turn.  Back to Lowe's with a screw driver in my purse so Jim can go through the lot of breakers and verify the screw will turn.  Installed the second breaker, the power is still out. Called Bonnie, the woman who will sell the park model, asked if she knew an electrician, nope, they are all gone for the summer.  This was a low spot in the day.  Then she called back and asked if it could be a Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter.  At that point it hit us, there is a GCFI outlet on the outside of the Arizona room that powers the shed.  The cover over it is ancient, it's been raining pigs and chickens and it's likely that water got in.  Jim is off to Lowe's for a new outlet cover.   Good thing they are close to the park model.  If this doesn't work, step 2 will be to replace the outlet itself.

No one has ever given us static over masking, until yesterday at Lowes.  We asked where the Preen was.  The Lowes employee told Jim he couldn't understand him.  This is bullshit.  Jim used to fly, he has a very clear and precise pilot on the radio voice and he was using it.  Then he said he didn't know what Preen was.  I spelled it for him, and Jim said it was a pre-emergent herbicide.  So then employee waved vaguely to the right, turned on his heel, and yelled "you're welcome" at us.  The hostility on display was astounding.  He's an employee, his personal views are his own, but he shouldn't be inflicting them on paying customers.

At 5:30 pm we headed out to the house to wait for Costco to bring furniture.  The delivery window was between 6 and 8.  At 8:01 they called to say they were on their way.  It took them awhile to reach us, having them deliver was the best decision we ever made.  No way were we getting it in the house.  Anyway, we left the house at about 9.  I had forgotten how dark it is out there.  It's pitch dark.

Fortunately we had a frozen pizza that cooks in 14 minutes, so there was dinner in a hurry.

It was a long day.  When I was a project manager, my mantra was "everything takes longer than you think it will" and that is as true today as it was then.  

Here is a view of the street.  Notice the cloud cover.

This is the back yard.  There is more foliage than I thought there would be.

I am really hoping this blooms before we leave.  We will not be here to see it again.  Too hot!

Another tree, I think it's a mesquite.  I am very happy it's far from the house. 

Time to pack, it's amazing how much stuff we amassed in one winter, all of which must now be transported.