Sunday, August 13, 2017

Hot Water and Patchwork

Quilt in Progress

This morning, quite early, I went to Home Depot to look at water heaters.  One of the sales persons pointed out one that met my specifications (40 gallons, natural gas heater, etc.).  Then, I went home and waited for my neighbor.  Neighbor came over a short while later and told me that he, too, had been to Home Depot, earlier in the morning to get an idea of what they had and prices.  We agreed to meet at the store in half an hour or so.  I showed him the one I had picked out earlier, he agreed it would be OK, and he also picked out two new flexible pipes for the fittings.  Then, I paid for everything (water heater cost $535, the two pipes were $25 each; the total, with tax, came to $615.01) and neighbor loaded the tank into his van and brought it over to my house.   Then, neighbor proceeded to remove the old heater and install the new one.  It took him about 3 hours.  The new heater is bigger around than the old one was, but it still fitted into the little metal storage structure.  And now, I have hot water on tap, again!  Neighbor also reattached the handle to my sliding glass door as that had come loose (I had tried to fix it, but he wasn't happy with my efforts!)  Before he left, I paid him something for installing the water heater for me. 

In the afternoon, I rested a bit; then went to the pharmacy to pick up my medication refills.  Then, I stopped at the grocery store for some bread ($.87), a piece of beef chuck steak ($3.59 @ $4.99/lb), and a container of ice cream ($3.49); I didn't take any pictures, but my total came to $7.95.

After I came home, I cleaned the bathroom, took a warm shower (just enough hot water to take away the chill of the cold water), watched news, had a cup of tea, did some sewing, and chatted on the phone with one of my friends who called.

Later, I video chatted with daughter.   She has to attend a 3-day conference in Minnesota for her work.  She will be leaving tomorrow morning and returning on Wednesday night.   One of her friends has sent a package, addressed to both of us, from Hawaii (her home state).  Daughter wanted me to wait until she comes home next to open it, so I put it aside until then. 

Today, I am grateful for:
- Helpful neighbors
- Hot water on tap!
- Warm showers!
- My prescription refills were ready without any drama!
- Playing with fabric.

Tomorrow, I have to do the dishes, do a load of laundry, cook the beef I bought, and call another friend to see if she'll be home so I can drop off a gift for her daughter who just celebrated her birthday. 

How was your Saturday? 

8 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Yes! One of those things we take for granted and don't miss until we don't have it!

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  2. So happy you got your hot water tank put in. Nice your neighbor could fix it for you. Very blessed to have good friends/neighbors.
    Know it will be fun and "hard' to wait to open the package until daughter gets home.. EXCITING..smile

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    1. Yes, I am very happy and thankful to have the hot water tank in place and neighbor was able to do it for me. I am glad daughter will be coming home at the end of the month so we can open the package!

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  3. Doesn't Dancer like this latest quilt? Or does he have some more important feline duty to perform instead of inspecting it?

    How nice to get your hot water problem all solved efficiently.

    Saturday morning I was surprised to learn that DH hadn't noticed the storm overnight at all, nor my restlessness as I listened to the amazing sudden downpours that happened at several intervals. To step outside one would have been instantly soaked to the skin. Saturday morning was fine and we met friends for breakfast.

    The weather was lovely today and we went to the beach and took a long walk along the river edge. Saw some wee sandpipers, and also met a friend and his son who were out on the water from the town downriver and "parked" their boat by the beach.

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    1. Oh, Dancer has definitely given his seal of approval of the new quilt several times! Just about every time I lay it on the bed to check on the progress, in fact!

      I'm glad you got some rain and that it was during the night, when you were safe at home and not out and about in it. Did you have waffles when you went out for breakfast? The walk by the river sounds lovely. Our river is mostly a concrete channel, although there are plans to make one stretch of it, where the concrete has eroded, into a park/recreation area.

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  4. Yay for the new heater and warm showers! I had never heard of water heaters being installed outside though. When my ex and I built our house, ours was in the garage with the washer and dryer and I think it's fairly common (at least here) nowadays. But in this house we don't have a garage so it's in a little room under the stairs in the back of the kitchen. When we had to change our very ancient water heater, several years ago, the door leading to that room was too narrow to get it in, so apparently they had put in the water heater first and THEN enclosed the room. Ugh. Thankfully it was only plywood so Greg cut through it so the plumber could get it in and replace it and then Greg glued the cut out panel back in place!

    I hope your daughter is enjoying her trip!

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    1. Nathalie, they used to have the water heaters indoors, here, too. It was only after the 1994 Northridge earthquake that they required water heaters to be installed outdoors and be strapped to the wall. That way, if there is another big earthquake, if the pipes break or the water heaters do fall, there won't be gas leaks inside the house or damage from the hot water spilling out, etc.

      That's too funny about having to cut through the wall to get to the water heater! Good thing it was plywood!

      She's having a good trip, thank you. She had conferences and workshops all day but later in the evening, she and her colleague who is also attending the conference did a bit of sightseeing and went out to dinner, last night.

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