A couple weeks ago there were some people working at the end of our street. They hit a gas line and they had to shut off the gas for our entire neighborhood. Once the line was repaired, Consumer’s Energy went from house to house to relight pilot lights and bleed any air out of the lines.
Ever since they were down at the water heater, Sam complained her showers were not getting as warm as she wanted. I just figured we had run the washer or dishwasher and used up the hot water. My showers seemed to be a tad cooler, but nothing too noticeable to me.
Thursday night, I took a lukewarm shower and mentioned it to Sam. We were still getting hot water in the kitchen, so I assumed it was this shower handle which limits how hot the water can get. It’s an adjustment cog inside the handle.
Friday morning, Sam said the shower was even cooler. We went out that day and I had showered the night before, so I didn’t shower until I had to get ready for work. By that time the water was ice cold!
I went downstairs and the water heater status indicator light was non-existent. According to the chart on it, that meant the pilot light was out. I didn’t have a whole lot of time, but I attempted to light it a few times to no avail.
I called my father-in-law and he said if the ignition switch got dust in it, it would quit working. I asked how much that would be for us to fix it. He told me it was something a licensed professional had to do because of the gas line.
We called Consumer’s Energy because we have the appliance protection thing on our water heater and furnace. After an hour on the phone, three reps, and countless “3 minute holds” they finally were able to get someone to come out this afternoon.
I had hoped it would be first thing this morning, but it had to be an afternoon appointment. When the guy arrived, he walked downstairs and I told him what I did and what was going on. He proceeded to do the exact same thing that I had done the day before and “whoooosh” the pilot light lit.
I felt like a complete idiot! I mean, the guy was at the house for like 3 minutes!!! His work took…..25 seconds! I’m sure that was the easiest money he made all month!
On the bright side, I will be taking a nice hot shower tonight!
It’s time for another round of Turntable Talk. This is the 14th edition hosted by Dave over at A Sound Day. As always he has presented our little group of music lovers with a great topic.
In his instructions he asks:
“Do you remember what the first album you bought was? LP? CD? Reel to reel, LOL? Why that one? Do you still have it? Would you want to ? Let your nostalgia run wild! Tell us about that first record you made your own.“
Let me start by saying that many of the albums my dad had, eventually wound up as “mine.” When I think back to the albums I remember there are some that I will never forget. To be clear, my dad bought these, but I wound up listening to them. He had many from Roy Orbison, Elvis, Lenny Dee, Herb Alpert, and so many others. The ones that eventually wound up in my room were a bit odd.
First, there was Dumb Ditties. An album of novelty songs put out by K-Tel. What 6 year old kid didn’t like silly songs?
Then there were two albums that had TV themes on them. There were not the original artists, and this was long before TV Toons put out their collections. They were actually pretty cheesy versions that a kid like me knew weren’t quite right, but close enough. They had goofy cartoon drawings of the main characters from the shows on the cover and were done by the Pop Singers and Orchestra. Was that even a real group?!
The last album that my dad bought that wound up in my record collection was the 1977 album of The Muppet Show. It had the theme song, Mah-Nah-Mah-Nah, and plenty of clips of the two old guys heckling the acts.
Now as far as the first album I actually bought, my memory is hazy. I know it had to be one of two and I know I would have bought them within a week of each other.
I had a paper route. I remember that you collected whatever your customers owed you for the week, and you paid for your papers. Whatever extra tip money you made was yours. I don’t recall making a lot of money, but it was enough to go up to the toy store to buy Star Wars stuff or to Harmony House to buy an album.
My dad had a couple of the Beatles albums. He had the blue and red greatest hits albums with them looking over the railing.
I loved the Beatles growing up – early Beatles. It took me a while to appreciate the later Beatles stuff. I recall walking into the Harmony House and grabbing either Beatles ’65 OR Beatles VI. I wish I could remember which one was THE first. I know, however, that these two albums were bought almost immediately after I began delivering papers.
Whichever one I bought first, I suppose doesn’t matter. These two albums contain some of my favorite songs by the Fab Four and they were played over and over again.
“This happened once before, when I came to your door. No reply….” A cold open starts Beatles 65. Boom! There’s John. What follows on the album was a variety of musical nuggets that my young ear just loved!
The harmonies sounded even better with headphones. I’m a Loser, Baby’s In Black, I’ll Be Back, and Mr. Moonlight each had me trying to sing all the different notes. There were great cover songs like Honey Don’t, Everybody’s Trying to Be My Baby, and Rock and Roll Music. Then there was I’ll Follow the Sun. Beautifully simple.
Beatles 65 was an album I played from start to finish many times.
As for Beatles VI, there were “skip” songs on this one for me. Skip songs were You Like Me Too Much, Words of Love, Tell Me What You See, and Every Little Thing. Why those didn’t do much for me, I can’t say.
I, of course, loved those great cover songs – Dizzy Miss Lizzie, Bad Boy, and Kansas City. I knew all of these songs by their original artists, but came to dig those Beatles versions more.
As a kid, I often found myself drumming my desk in school to the opening of Look What You’re Doing. The teachers told me to leave the drumming to Ringo!
The one song that is the stand out for me on the album was Eight Days a Week. What a great song. It is one that even non Beatles fans know, love, and sing along to. I could be mistaken on this, but I swear there was no fade in on the album. I remember the first time I played this at a radio station and the fade in happened – it freaked me out. Either way, it is one of their best songs.
My love for the Fab Four started very early in life thanks to the musical influence of my mom and dad (and maybe that Beatles cartoon). That love for them continues to this day. It only makes sense to me that the first album I would buy would be from them! These albums remain as fresh today as they were when they were released – years before I ever got my hands on them.
Thanks again to Dave for inviting me to take part in this feature. As always, I look forward to reading the other contributions and to next month’s topic.
Yesterday I was supposed to work. When I woke up, I saw a text from work saying that we were down patients and it was my turn to stay home. There was a staff meeting that I had to call in and be a part of, but after that, it was all family time! The downside is that I lose hours. The upside is that I got some MUCH NEEDED time with the entire family.
The minute I hung up from our meeting, we piled the kids in the car and drove to the local ice cream place. It’s a few miles further than Dairy Queen, but worth it! On the way, Ella told us she wanted “pink” ice cream with sprinkles. We asked Andrew is he wanted blue ice cream and he said yes. When we asked about sprinkles, he said no.
We got there just before a bunch of people lined up behind us. Sam took the kids and grabbed a table for us to sit at. One by one, the worker passed me each of our items. Ella was happy as a clam eating her sprinkles. Andrew ate some of his Blue Moon ice cream, but eventually wanted to eat from mommy’s cone. This led to Ella wanting to “try” mine, and by the end of the visit, Sam and I lost our ice cream!
“I like mint ice cream, Daddy!” I do, too, kiddo!
I just love this picture of Sam and Andrew. He is a real “mama’s boy!” They have such a special bond.
After we were done, we went home and started the bedtime routine. It was already long after their normal bed time, and because they were outside a lot earlier in the day, they both fell asleep almost immediately.
Sam and I actually got to have some time to ourselves last night. Because of our work schedules, we don’t get much quality time with just the two of us. It was so nice to have that last night. As we sat in bed talking, Sam said she could go for Taco Bell. This made me chuckle, but it also reminded me of those nights before our kids arrived where this would be a very common thing to say. Without hesitation, I got out of pajamas, back into my clothes and drove to Taco Bell to grab us each a Nacho Bell Grande!
The two of us sat in bed for a while, each with our late night snack, laughing and talking. It was something that both of us really needed.
Our plans for today were altered a bit, but in a good way. Sam had a bunch of clothes she wanted to take to the resale shop. She was going to take the kids to her mom’s house so that I could paint the nook we build recently. At the last minute, I decided that I wanted to go with her. We dropped the kids off, and we drove up the resale shop about 30 minutes from us.
We had decided to have lunch together while they sorted through all the clothes. We were going to grab Panera, but Sam noticed a steakhouse across the street, so we went there instead. We enjoyed a wonderful lunch together and then went and walked around Target. We didn’t intend on buying anything, but we saw some cute stuff for the kids and ended up buying more than we needed to.
Once the resale shop called to tell us they were ready for us, we stopped there and loaded up the items that they didn’t take, and drove home. Sam dropped me off so I could nap before work and went to get the kids.
I was awakened by my daughter who was very excited to show me all the “prizes” we bought for her at the store. I could have used a few more minutes of sleep, but waking up to her smile was worth losing a few winks.
I may have to start scheduling days off. The last 24 hours really refilled my tank. It reminded me of what life should be like. It reminded me of just how important it is to share that special time with family. It reminded me of how important one on one time is with my wife. Those moments are few and far between and that needs to change!
I just found out that May is Mental Health Awareness Month.
You HAVE to take care of yourself. I have learned this over time as I realize just how many things I have going on. Anxiety, Depression, Stress, OCD, and now possible ADHD.
(For those who have reached out and asked, I am currently waiting to hear back about scheduling my ADHD evaluation.)
If you don’t feel right, talk to your doctor. Talk to a therapist. Do WHATEVER you have to do to take care of YOU!
It is finally starting to feel like Spring in Michigan. Some of the days ahead may even have summer like temperatures.
After I put together the porch rocker for Sam, the kids and I ran around the yard. Sam had got some flowers and soil to put in a planter pot and we placed it next to the front porch.
The back yard needs a good mow, but Sam had actually mowed the front lawn late last week. The kids were running around the front yard and I took advantage of the shade. I actually decided just to sit on the front lawn. The kids saw me and came over and sat with me. If there had been clouds out, I would have laid on my back with them and looked at the shapes. Skies were clear, however, and it was nice to just sit on the ground and play with them.
Sometimes, you gotta take a minute and enjoy the little things….
When Sam got home from work today, we packed up the kids and took a drive to Lowe’s. The purpose of the trip was to get a teeter totter for the swing set/playscape in the back yard. Once we were there, we asked around and found out that the only way to get pieces for swing sets was to order them online. There was nothing in the store.
Sam noticed some patio furniture cushions and wanted to look at them for some chairs we have. It was then that she saw a beautiful rocking chair. I had bought two rockers for our porch a few years ago, but they were poorly made and just didn’t hold up. As we were looking at the chairs, Sam noticed that they had a bench rocker. After discussing things, we decided that we were going to get that for our side porch.
I had every intention of getting in the car and saying “Well, Happy Mother’s Day!” to Sam. But on the way out to the car, Ella asked her, “Is this your Mommy’s Day present, Mommy?” She said, “I suppose it is!”
Just like your typical man, as soon as we got home, I pulled the box out of the van, placed it on the porch and grabbed my tools! I was going to get this thing together today! Of course, I didn’t stop to think that Sam had worked all night and wanted to go to bed. She was in the house getting lunch together while I was glancing over the instructions.
It didn’t really take too long to put together, especially when I had help!
Andrew was all about trying to help me out. He wants to help SO bad. He kept bringing me pieces I didn’t need yet and pulling sockets from my socket wrench box. I look forward to the day when I can actually sit and build something with him and have him understand what we are doing.
In the end, the rocker came out great and really is a nice addition to the porch.
As I finished it up, mom went in the house to get some sleep. She should have been the first one to sit on it, but of course, that wasn’t the case.
Looks like this bench is like that cereal, “Kid tested, mother approved!”
Happy early Mother’s Day, Babe. I look forward to being able to rock with you on this over the summer. They even have a beer I can bring …
Yesterday morning when I came home from work, the family shared some donuts I picked up from a local shop. It has sort of become a Saturday morning treat.
Sam may have caught a cold and she wasn’t feeling well yesterday. I told her to lie down and I would take the kids outside with me.
I have been meaning to tear the trampoline apart for a while and figured the weather was nice enough to do it while the kids played.
They were on the playscape, in the sandbox, and playing with various things in the yard while I worked. They were always in my line of site.
Occasionally, Ella would walk in the house. I assumed she was going in to get a drink or use the bathroom. The windows were open and I had to keep asking her to come back outside. I told her that I was almost done and we could go back in after that. She probably went in and came back out 6 times.
When I got the last of the big pieces apart, I told them we could go in for lunch. They went into the living room, where one of their shows was already on and I went and made lunch.
It was only when I walked into the living room to put their lunches on the table that I realized the reasons for Ella’s trips inside. When I looked to my right, there was a bunch of sand from the sandbox all over the floor and carpet. She had been taking it in one cup at a time!
“Can I bring the sandbox in the house, Daddy?”
Sigh….
I vacuumed, but I have a feeling there will be sand there for a few weeks…..
A little known fact is that back in 1912, Hellmann’s mayonnaise was manufactured in England. In fact, the Titanic was carrying 12,000 jars of the condiment scheduled for delivery in Vera Cruz, Mexico, which was to be the next port of call for the great ship after its stop in New York. This would have been the largest single shipment of mayonnaise ever delivered to Mexico but as we know, the great ship did not make it to New York.
The ship hit an iceberg and sank and the cargo was forever lost. The people of Mexico, who were crazy about mayonnaise and were eagerly awaiting its delivery, were inconsolable at the loss. Their anguish was so great, that they declared a National Day of Mourning which they still observe to this day. The National Day of Mourning occurs each year on May 5th and is known, of course as Sinko de Mayo.
I have been telling this joke for years. I used to tell it on the radio all the time and was always amazed at how many listeners had never heard it before.
It remains one of my favorites! Feel free to share a laugh today!!
So I have to share this, because it made me laugh.
I received an email from my local library that a book I had requested was ready for pick up. I stopped on my way to work to get it.
As I pulled into the parking spot, I noticed that the vehicle next to me was from a local group home. The driver (wearing scrubs) was helping a young man out of the van. He was about 25 or so and carrying a big bag (which I found out afterward contained about 30 CD’s that he had checked out.) They were walking about 15 feet in front of me.
Just before they got to the door, the guy breaks wind. It was quite loud and the driver says, “Oh my goodness!!” The young man, laughed almost as soon as it was over and says loudly, “No more chili for me!!” I couldn’t help but laugh as well. The driver looked back at me sort of embarrassed. When she saw me laughing, too, she started to laugh and continued to walk inside.
As I walked out with my book, the whole scene played again in my head. I again laughed as I remembered the words of Shrek – “Better out than in, I always say!”
Various Ramblings of a Nostalgic Italian 