Miscellaneous 08-12-23

I have not been posting because my life is so dull there isn't much to post about!   I previously mentioned backing into my garage door which requires a complete replacement.   That was a week ago and I am still waiting for the installation.  With all the auto thefts and break ins I hate leaving my car parked in the driveway, but there is no guarantee that if I close it in the garage I can open the door to get it out!  On Monday I had to have a handyman replace my garbage disposal which was leaking water under the sink.  The joys of homeownership!  

Tuesday was the Surfside Quilters Guild meeting where the Challenge quilts were revealed.  It was a good year with 40 entries with the theme of "How Sweet It Is", all very original and interesting.  There  is always a viewers choice and the winner was Michelle Howe's "Candyland". Her work is very good and she researched Candyland, finally finding a1950s version of the game on Etsy.  It was her favorite  game as a child and she added a few personal favorite treats. The Viewers Choice prize is always $100.

"Childhood Memories"  Michelle Howe  21" X 21.5"
Collage, Machine pieced, Machine quilted,

KoKo and I are still walking twice a day which adds up to about 5000 steps.  It sounds boring but we pretty much walk the same loop each time.  KoKo finds new smells and new potty spots, I look at the flowers, birds, house renovations, and greet neighbors along  the way.   It is a very quiet neighborhood and sometimes we don't see anyone else.  But usually in the morning there are dog walkers and people leaving for work.  We have had typical August weather with a few monsoon sprinkles and not too hot.  Supposed to be mid 90s this coming week.  

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Friday Food - On a Saturday 08-05-23

Friends are still gifting tomatoes and I am loving it!  This was Friday's dinner. 

A  large  slice  of sourdough bread (current favorite is San Luis Sourdough),  mayo, a small smear of Dijon, one large tomato sliced, black pepper, sharp cheddar and a quick melt in the toaster oven.  It was delicious and I was tempted to make another one, but I have been cutting down on food.  Eating one cookie instead of five!  And one toasted tomato/cheese sandwich.

I have  been in bit of a funk and haven't been posting.  But we are  still walking twice a day trying to overcome my aching legs and butt.  Paying attention seems to be more difficult and this caused me to back into my garage door!!  I always back into the garage and I always open it with the clicker - until this time.  Have no real idea how it happened, but it requires a replacement door!  It will be twice the cost of the ruined door which we installed about 35 years ago.  Same specifications. 

The heat has not been so bad, mostly in the low 90s, The A/C is set at 79F and doesn't come on until mid afternoon.   But the sun shines on the front of the house  and it starts heating up.  We walk in the morning about 7:30am before it gets hot  and wait until 7:30pm or 8pm when the temp drops to 80F or so to take our evening walk.  

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The Saga Continues 09-24-15

It was a busy day - returned rental car, picked up Lexus from auto body shop, stopped at market for detergent, entertained plumber who cleaned out my kitchen faucet, delivered SAQA traveling trunk H to FedEx for shipment to Florida, worked on newsletter, and suffered in the 98F heat when Edison  cycled my A/C periodically.   It  didn't ever get to 98F in my house, but hot enough to be uncomfortable.  I shouldn't complain because giving Edison permission to cut me off at high usage times gives me a nice cut on my electric bill.  Every little bit helps!

 

I should be done with repairs for a while, but you never know.  One thing that needs to be done is  painting the outside of the house.  It has been about eleven years and it is starting to look rather worn out.  The western sun shines on the front of the house which is mostly wood siding, so it blisters and starts to peel off.  I'm told that eleven years is lengthy in this climate.  Seems to me it should last twenty!

 

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More repairs 09-23-15

The washing machine repairman came today and solved my problem.   He determined that when the water softener blew it's filter it stopped up the cold water line in the washer,  He cleaned it out and now the machine seems to be working okay.  I was going to do a load to be sure, but I left my detergent at the Laundromat.  There wasn't much left in it, maybe two loads.  Guess I'll have to stop at the store tomorrow.   And now I need a plumber to clean out the faucet in the kitchen.   It never rains, but it pours.

 

I am shipping the SAQA Traveling Trunk tomorrow.  I didn't know I was going to have to store it for several weeks and am glad to see it go.  SAQA provided a prepaid label, so all I have to do is drop it off at FedEx, which is quite close to where I live. 

 

Five years ago this week I drove to San Juan Bautista via Hwy 101.   I stopped along the way to photograph the wild sweet fennel that grows along the road - this is north of Goleta, CA.

 

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A tented house 07-30-13

Blogger wouldn't take my pictures last evening, but it has relented and I think these three will work.  If the pictures don't show, please let me know. 

I have previously posted pictures of houses tented for termite fumigation.  They cover the entire building from dirt to the ridge top with these specially made canvas tarps and seal up the connecting seams with a fold or two and big clips that look like the clips used on battery chargers.  But before the tent goes up the workers go through everything in the house to remove anything edible - food, pills, pet food, etc. - that might absorb the poison.  Of course, the residents have already done this, but double checking is necessary.  There have been people who forced their way into the house and died from the gas used.  It kills termites and everything else inside the tarps.  


Warren Street, where I live, ends with a left turn onto Barbara St. and this two story five bedroom house is the first on Barbara, so it is visible almost the length of Warren.  It has been on the market for about a year and sold at the beginning of July.  I hope the new occupants don't have a hulking white motor home to park in the driveway.
 

Here it is, all sealed up with signs posted warning people away.  While the gas was doing its work the people who are moving out parked their motor home with slide out "rooms" across the street from my house and plugged into the power at the house on the corner.  I assume they had permission to do that.
 

 
I believe this is where the gas is injected and, ultimately, released.  You can see the clips on the seams.   I'm not sure I would want this done to my house.  There are new treatments that use orange oil, so it isn't quite so toxic, but I would worry even about that.  I have wondered if something built into this house has been part of my breathing problems, but there is no proof.  We have had subterranean termites in this house four different times.  I've been told that is because this development was built on land that was covered with orange groves for a hundred years.  The buried roots and pieces of the trees attract the little critters.  A friend who lives not far away had a little dog that would start scratching at the baseboard - he could hear the crunching going on inside! 

Is this a California thing?

I was going to post this as a Wordless Wednesday, but I don't know if anyone would understand what it is without an explanation. 


This polka dot house has been insulated by drilling holes in the outside walls and blowing in loose insulation.   After about a week the painters come and repaint the exterior.  I had it done to our house seven or eight years ago and am amazed at how much difference there is in heat retention and how much less the A/C runs in the hot weather.  An added benefit that I had not expected is the deadening of sound.  I know the multi layered windows help with that, but the insulation does more.  I think that houses here are now built with sidewall insulation, but forty years ago they were not.  It was an expensive deal, but the gas company offered a rebate and I probably have saved in utility bills over the years.

What on Earth? 09-14-09

I have purchased a few quilts on the SAQA 2009 Auction - three, so far - and they are each little gems. But my BIG expenditure at the end of the summer has been a Noritz tankless water heater - something I have lusted after for several years. Yes, it is very expensive, but the decadent pleasure of having endless hot water that is really hot is, I think, worth it. I could have purchased a bunch of little foot-square quilts instead, but my water heater gave out and I came home to find water running out toward the big door. Sometimes it is necessary to "bite the bullet"! I'll let you know if my gas bill and water bill decrease in the next six months or so.