Faucet and Book Recommendation

 Faucet

This winter the kitchen faucet started to leek ever so slightly and had gotten progressively worse to the point that there was one spot off to the right where it had to be placed exactly to prevent it from leaking.  It's the single handle pivot type.

Couple of weeks ago Jack said we should stop by Menard’s and pick up whatever it was that he said would be needed to fix it.  I was thinking more along the lines of picking up the yellow pages and picking out a plumber.  Wouldn’t ya know, this past Wednesday he had the car for a dentist appointment and went to Mendard’s.

So Saturday was the dreaded day of doom.  The day of the 15 minute project that would turn into 2 hours, the yellow pages, and a plumber.  However, it was a pleasant surprise in that it took us exactly 35 minutes.  The only hard part was shutting off the water.  Both shut of knobs or handles were corroded that even with a small pipe wrench it was work to get them to move. 

I put each piece I took apart in a line so that it would be a no brainer reassembling it.  Luckily, Jack was paying better attention to the way the spring and plastic thingy came apart.  When it came time to insert the new spring and new plastic thingy, I couldn’t remember if the larger end of the spring was up or down, or which way the plastic thingy went over the spring.  In the end, Jack pointed out there was only one way they would go together. 

We now have a perfectly working kitchen faucet once again – Job well done.

 Book Recommendation

At the library Saturday I picked up a book that I couldn’t put down.  Super by Jim Lehrer.  IN LARGE PRINT no less.  Love that large print.  It’s a short 250 pages fun read.  Highly recommend it.

“In the tradition of Murder on the Orient Express, Jim Lehrer brings together a cast of characters as fascinating as the historic train that will carry them from Chicago to Los Angeles.  Among them are a once-great Hollywood producer, a dying millionaire, a stowaway, actor Clark Gable, and former president Harry Truman.  Pulling out of the Dearborn Station, the Super Chief’s passengers – famous and infamous, anonymous and enigmatic – can’t possibly imagine what lies ahead…“ 

“The twists and turns will keep readers turning the pages at top speed to finish one of the most captivating stories of Lehrer's prolific career.”

Pefect Jacket Update - The Dog and The Fly

Update on Perfect Jacket Search:

As I had said in an earlier blog, I’m looking to replace my perfect summer jacket.  The one I ordered from Lands End came and it’s a good contender.  Only thing is it has a shinier material than I really like.  It’s rain resistance, a taupe-ish color, just below the hip in length, two inside pockets (they could have been a tad bit bigger), had a belt (I’ve removed it).  It’s just that material I’m hesitant about.  It’s too soon to tell if this will be the one.

The Dog and The Fly:

Came home from work Thursday and Jack said Česky spent the better part of the day in our bedroom or my bathroom.  It wasn’t until about 3:00 that he came out.  He was acting fine when I came home so we thought maybe he just wasn’t feeling good.

Came home Friday and Jack said the dog drove him crazy for most of the day.   If Jack moved, the dog was right at his legs to the point of almost tripping Jack as he walked.   If Jack sat down, the dog would keep pestering him or be pacing from room to room - continually. Finally, the dog went into my bathroom.  About 3:00 Jack went to look for him.  The dog had somehow closed the bathroom door.  He came out and was fine for the rest of the day.  This is the way he acts when there are either fire crackers or a bug that flies in the house.  I looked around and didn’t see anything.

Saturday he started the pacing and finally went into my bathroom again.  I heard the door close.  About an hour later, I went to check on him and left the door open.  I could hear him pacing in there, finally the door closes and he settles down. 

We had both noticed he would look up when he was pacing through the living room.  Finally, I saw the fly up in one of the sky lights.  We have a cathedral ceiling and the sky light glass is even farther up.  I got the 6’ step ladder and a broom trying to squish it without causing any damage to the sky light.  No luck.  There is crown molding around it with enough room between the molding and the sky light framing that the fly could get down into.  Tried spraying fly spray up where it had gone, which was now the highest possible point.  It didn’t look as though the spray actually got up high enough, but it must have or the vapor got to it because today the dog is fine today.

When he is outside he will go after flies and hornets with a vengeance, but in the house he can’t stand the high pitch noise their wings in motion make.

Official end of winter and The Dog goes to the vet

It’s official.  Winter is coming to an end.  We know that because the snow man has been put away.  My parents had given us a snow man whose facial features, stick arms, and button are fiber optic.  He has a blue cap, which really didn’t go with my red and green Christmas holiday décor, so I brought him to work three years ago.  We put him out early in December and he goes back into his box and up to the storage area at the end of February, thus the sign of winter being officially over. 
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Twice a year we take The Dog to the vet in Grand Rapids.  After having tried a couple of local vets, we just decided we like Dr. Stasiak at Forest Hills Veterinary Clinic the best so why keep looking.  We have known him now for close to 20 years. 

 We had lived in three different Grand Rapids suburbs over the course of 10 years.  Each time we are there we pick somewhere to “tour” just to see how that particular area has changed.  There are a number of routes too that we take just getting there or coming back, the trip makes for a pleasant afternoon drive.  Not sure we’ll be saying that much longer the way gas prices keep increasing. 

This past Wednesday was The Dog’s annual spring check up, heartworm testing, and because he is pushing 10 years he now gets blood work for kidney and liver too.  We did this trip without the usual sightseeing.  It was a cold, windy, and rainy day.  Jack didn’t even get out of the car to come in.

What we did notice was the difference in snow still on the ground.  We have very little snow left.  Allendale, about half way between us and GR, had more snow than even GR had. Plowed fields were completely white.

Tests all came back good.  He does want to give Česky a good teeth cleaning.  We will schedule that in a few weeks so that we can coordinate it with having lunch with old friends, now retired.

In Search of the Perfect Jacket.

I actually own the perfect jacket.  I have since we first visited Mike in Prague in 1993…1992??  Well, right around that time.  It’s the perfect weight.  Has the key attribute to a perfect jacket, inside pockets, multiple inside packets.  It wasn’t expensive; I bought it either a K-Mart or JC Penney type store. 

The only thing was that it is red, which wasn’t exactly the best color to wear while touring a former communist country shortly after the velvet revolution.  Well, what did I know back then?

Anyway, I have replaced that perfect jacket five or six times in the past seven or eight years.   I keep purchasing what I think will suffice as a replacement, and…they never do.  Couple of years ago I found one that had the mandatory inside pockets, however it was fleece.  What was I thinking when I thought fleece in July and August would work?  Or the one that was navy blue, unlined, a big deep floppy pockets-too big and a tiny pocket-too small, cell phone barely could fit it; the one that was car coat length that is annoying with a lining that was too warm; the simple unlined windbreaker that makes too much noise when walking; or the black cotton that’s too hot and attracted the white dog hairs. 

So I’ve started the search once again only this time the budget has increased, within reason that is.  I still can’t spend $100 on a jacket, a summer jacket no less.  Macy’s had dozens, either no mandatory multiple inside pockets of a reasonable depth or the right weight and length.  The search goes on.  Land’s End seems to have a couple possibilities. Our Sear’s didn’t carry the one I was most interested in so I’ve ordered it.  I'll know in a few days if I've found 'the one'.