Go paperless today!

 

How many of these do you get or have you already gone paperless?  Not me.

I have a few accounts that are paperless because it pleases me, not "thee oh mighty corporation."  

Aside:  I do believe in free market and making money.  I'd just prefer to keep mine a bit longer.

I love it when they say that I will save time by not getting something in the mail. They are right.  I won't have to open the envelope.  all I have to do is open a website, remember the password, get the amount, decide if I need a copy for my records, print it here and file.

Got one yesterday which said that if I go paperless, I would have more time to enjoy Summer Fun.  Yep.  Summer Fun.  It has been over 100 for a couple of weeks.  Whar's the Fun?  {with apologies to the Whar's the Beef lady }.

Paperless helps the company.  It does not help me.  I file all receipts for later tax purposes.  How many times have I had to dig through the files to find a receipt so I could check what the company says?   How many times?  If I have to print the receipt, who pays for the paper and the ink?  Less Summer Fun.

This is blubbering.  I'll stop.

Tomorrow:  rant about the local water company and my bank - or have I already done that?  Question:  if we are having a water shortage, what are they doing now so we won't have the problem next year?  Whine.

Lots of question marks in this report today.

smile

m

I need a drink - squawk

 SQUAWK =  CHIRP     = TWITTER (but not the internet)

Sometimes I don't remember what I write about - (poor English sentence structure)

So, Sooosss, I sits here at the machine looking out the window to my side.  Nothing is stirring other than an occasional working pickup truck whizzing by.  The sun is going west while my window faces east.  Sitting here with my CEFCO big gulp in my right hand looking out the window.

A bird flies by and lands in the shade outside my window.  Interesting.  He's a nice little bird - some dark color.  Could be a boy bird or a girl bird.  That has been hard for me to tell  most times.  The really pretty birds are boys - strutting about to show off for his gal.  This bird was dark.  I spoke through the window at him.  He didn't care or hear.  The big air conditioner is roaring out there.

The widdle birdy walks across the yard.  I figure he's looking for a juicy bug.  Who wouldn't be?  A nice juicy bug on a hot July afternoon lounging in the shaded grass.  That's the life of Riley.  I watch him strutt through the bermuda.  He goes over to the air conditioner - really?

My A.C. - as does yours - has a white plastic pipe coming down from the attic unit.  AC works by pulling humidity out of the air and funneling it outside into the yard.  With that bit of knowledge planted, look at my little bird.

He walks over to the white pipe and sticks his beak under it - yes, he is getting a drink of water.  Is this a smart bird?  Or do all birds know this trick?  I watched him for some time until he flew the coup.  What-do-ya-know-Joe?  I marveled.  Then, another bird landed in the grass.  This time it is a big ole black bird.  Same trick.  I marveled.

Over the past week or so, I continued to be fascinated by my parade of birds.  All sipping nectar from a dripping A.C. conveyor pipe.  I had an idea.

Out in the shed I found a small bowl - left over from somewhere - cereal bowl - or perhaps once it held mashed potatoes on a Sunday afternoon.  I don't remember.  I placed the bowl under the end of the pipe.  Within moments it began to fill with cool water - well, as cool as water can be under the circumstances.

Now I have a continual flight of birds - small, large, in between.  No Eagles yet.  They not only drink, they bathe, they stand in the water and wash food, they sip and slurp.  Why haven't I thought of this before?  FYI: some stand on the edge of the bowl and put their beaks in the water - sidewise.  I suppose they can't suck in water so they trap it inside the beak.   

I enjoy this show.

Join me - find a dish and join the sloshing.  Who knows, maybe a passing rabbit or dog or elephant will make a short stop.  I'm waiting.

Mike #3

water blues

 

good title.  water blues. debated typing "water bluz."  "Is it too subtle," I said to myself.  Note the color of this print.  too subtle?

My house has a strange quirk.  When you turn on the water hose, you hear this high pitched sound throughout the house.  On the good side, the noise helps me remember to shut off the spigots.  Really strange - not a hammering that you often hear in older homes, but  a high pitch sorta moan.  Oh well.

I am assuming that it is caused by small pipes and too much water pressure.  Am NOT going to tear out all my pipes and redo the whole house.  "Live with it," I say.

=============

I stay up fairly late messin' with the computer and watching TV by myself.  Nothing is ever accomplished.  It is what I do & have done since I could choose my own bedtime.  In my younger teaching days, I'd stay up watching Johnny Carson while I typed and prepared for the next school day.  It is what I did...and do.

Thus, being retired, my preference is to sleep late - maybe 9 or 9:30.  What else is there to do?

This morning at - say - 6:35 or so - my wife rolled out and went into the bathroom.  Don't know why that woke me up.  I looked at clock and turned back over.  (Remember I am close to deaf without hearing aids - I don't hear everything.)

As I started to doze, I heard the fan in the bathroom turn on.  That's something since I rarely hear the fan running when I am standing in there.  A minute or so later, the wife walks out of the room and asks what that noise is.  That Noise Is?  I rolled my eyes still hidden behind the sleeping eyelids.  Huh? Oh?  What? Sure?  Do what?

The fear hit me.  What is that noise?  Oh no, the Air Conditioner motor is going out.  Boy it is loud.  I squirreled out of bed, put on the house shoes, and shuffled blindly into the bathroom.  It wasn't the fan.  The noise got louder as I neared the water closet  ( a cute name for the toilet hidden behind a door ).  I know, some neighbor must be  running a big machine outside.  It sounded like an enormous compressor - a machine grinding away at space...The fear continued.  I looked at the ceiling.

The air cond unit runs down the middle of the house in the attic.  I moved towards the L.R. & made sure the A.C. was turned off.  It made no difference to the sound.  On to the other side of the house.  The sound diminished.  Why?   I was standing right under the A.C.  no sound.  Moving to the front door, the sound increased slightly.  I opened the front door and walked around to the outside A.C. unit.  Quiet and Still.  nothing there.  This makes no sense.  

A quick trip to the garage, pull down the ladder, and climb into the attic.  It was so quiet I could have paused for a relaxing nap.  So, it is not the A.C. -  ??? that was a question mark ???  Back to the bedroom, "wham bang" it was still crunching loudly along.  I don't understand.  one last thing.

I opened the back door.  Maybe a neighbor out back was running a pool cleaning service or helicopter landing pad.   Then, I saw it.

(at this point I should pause for a commercial.  since I have nothing to sell, we go on)

The spigot on the back of the house outside the bedroom window was spewing water,  It was where the water hose connected to the spigot - y'know, one of those government mandated attachments to keep water from going back into the house pipes.   Water spewing.  I trudged over and turned off the water faucet - the noise stopped.

We have a water hose attached which waters the garden if you turn on the timer and the faucet.  My daughter had turned it on as she went to work.  It should have shut off and BEEN QUIET.  It didn't.  I do not understand the pipes in this house. What a noise.

By now I am awake.  Going back to bed was an option; then, my wife said, "I can't find my phone."  I gave it up - look for a lengthy nap in the p.m. hours.

I wish you could have heard the noise.  I'm asking for all you profession, semi-professionals, and amateur plumbers to lend me your expertise.  Best plan?  Sell the house, and start over.  Maybe, don't water the garden at 6 a.m.

more later [or not],

m3  

Gonna ramble here

Since it has been about a month since I visited my blog/bloggy/blug/bluggy/blooper,  I figure it is about time to let you know I'm still alive - I'm Alive!

Sitting here looking out my window at the dying grass, my dog Sadie reclined in the door way - tail wagging - trying to get my attention...she has just been fed and is as contented as a small dog can be on a full stomach -- but the dying grass.  I don't know what to do.  Water company has put us all on class 3 restrictions, water once a week and turn off you front yard fountains ... don't have a fountain.  Instead I have a blow up Uncle Sam using electricity in celebration of the 4th.  There is probably a Level 3 electric restriction somewhere.

I water on Wednesday.  Today is Wednesday.  Forgot this morning.  will water tonight, which brings up another issue for me.

I got my water bill last week.  It showed that I had used 58,000 gallons of water.  58,000.  That is a big number.  Sure, I watered my lawn twice a week - it was only level 2 restrictions then.  Last year, I never used more than 28,000 even in the hottest weather.  

{ Aside: did ja know that the word hottest has 3 Ts?  I tried it with 2 Ts, but "spell check" reprimanded me.  So it is ==>  Hot Test not Hot Est.  I bet I'd have missed that one on my 6th grade spelling test. }

The water company came out & said I had a water leak.  I know where it is.  The Sprinkler System has a leak.  I did some tests around.  That's it.  So, if I run the sprinkler tonight, I will water the lawn - AND - I will water somewhere else with my water leak.  Can anyone, other than me, see the potential for an enormous sprinkler system fixit repair bill?  Didja know that stage 4 restrictions are BUCKET watering only.  That is a joy to look forward to.  

"Whar's mah bucket, Maw?"

====

Outside my window and down about 10 feet is our outside A.C. unit.  It hums and hums all day long.  As you know, the A.C. pulls moisture out of the air and drips it outside via a white pipe.  Now, lately I've notice birds flying down and landing outside my window - looking for bugs?  Nope.  They walk over to that white pipe and get a drink of water.  There is my outside water fountain.

====

I bought a propane tank for my outside grill.  We've lived here for 2 years without firing up the grill.  When we moved, nobody would transport the old tank here - guess there is a law about propane transportation.  $58 at our HEB Grocery store.  It was here for the 4th.  My daughter bought some steaks, veggies, and potatoes for a very nice feast.  There are leftovers if you're interested.

====

Little black bird with a white stripe on the side of his head walking south by my window - gonna guzzle my Stage 3 water supply.

Here's a bit of a medical thing.  You know that I am old:  82 and a half.  My wife is now 82 and three quarters.  Yes, she is older than I.  She's had a bit of a problem moving around.  Fear of falling is almost as bad as actually hitting the ground. {and we learn that hitting is really HIT  TING not Hit  Ing. It is good to learn new things.}  She has signed up for some physical therapy.  They give her exercises.  I do them with her.  Some days I cannot believe how good a person that I yam.   Up-down-up-down 10 times.  Loving it.

====

I miss going to the Canton Flea Market (1st Mondays).  The distance from here is too far for just one day of looking.  There is nothing I need to buy.  There is nothing for my cash supply to liberate.  Maybe I need a new purple martin house.  I miss going to their dog town and looking at the puppies. Everyone tells me that I don't need another puppy.  What do they know?  I'd love to have another female wire-hair dachshund to go with me until I am gone.

====

To finish this up, a little political comment:

WHAT  ARE  YOU THINKING ????  MORONS !!!!

Love,

m3