On Friday, I went to the office and had a productive day. While taking a break from doing my regular projects-related work, I went through a few more items stored in the overhead bin and recycled another binder.
I also went through my planner for 2012 and recycled it. There were several appointments noted, staff meetings (we were still discussing layoffs on March 28, according to my notes), and there were numerous to do lists, including a note to give a list of current projects and their status to my supervisor (see, that is nothing new!). But very few personal notations, other than calling in to see if I needed to report for jury duty in June, a #29 in July to indicate I had completed 29 years of service, my mammogram appointment (oh, such a routine, mundane thing to do, back then!), doctors' appointments for daughter and myself, etc.
Nothing much worth noting, other than I was still identifying species in May - on May 15, I had written down the names of several plants - I've noted them below, more for my own information than anything else. In black is what I had written in the day planner; in blue is a description (new) of what the plants (I looked them up, again):
Labiatae or Lamiaceae (plants in the mint or deadnettle family to which mint, basil, rosemary, lavender, etc. belong)
Ornithogalum (a genus of plants grown from bulbs, with star shaped flowers, often known as "Star of Bethlehem")
brevistylum (one of the species of Ornithogalum)
umbellatum (another species of the same genus)
Acinos alpinus (Common name, rock thyme; one of the plants in the Lamiaceae family)
L. Moench (sorghum bicolor)
Hornimum pyrenaicum (another plant in the Lamiaceae family; it is a genus with a single species; common name is Dragon Mouth)
Butterwort (this is the common name for the family; the genus name is Pinguicula and it is a carnivorous plant that traps insects, etc.)
Then, there was this, written on July 19:
3/2 102.86
5/4 181.89
I've no idea what that was, but, hope it wasn't a record of my weight gain! LOL.
It was clear during the day, but it started to rain in the afternoon. Friend M had called around 4:00 p.m. to let me know that he would not be able to do my garden, as it was starting to rain and he'll make it up, another day. It was still dry on my drive home, but it started to drizzle almost as soon as I turned into my drive way and then, it rained steadily through the evening and into the night. I don't mind when it rains during the night, when I am safely home!
The drive home was notable only because I almost met with an accident during a lane change! I had my signal on, to indicate a switch to the left lane; a car in the left lane, decided to switch to the right lane, without a signal! Fortunately, I saw her in time and managed to swerve back to avoid hitting her. I think she saw her exit coming up, because she continued to switch lanes, still without any signals!
When I came home, I realized that my relatively new water heater was leaking. I had been noticing that there seems to be a a trickle of water coming out of the water heater, which is located outside and enclosed in a sheet metal structure. I saw it for the first time on Wednesday, I believe, but I wondered if it was excess rain water, so didn't pay it much attention. It was a bigger stream of water on Thursday, and I wondered if it was a leak. Then, on Friday, I realized that yes, it was definitely a leak and, not only that, I didn't have any hot water on tap! Which explained why the shower water never warmed up in the morning! LOL! It really was too cold to have a cold shower, too! I decided to call neighbor E, but by then, it was raining, so I knew I had to wait until Saturday to call.
In the evening, I chatted with daughter on the phone (as soon as I came home), replied to blog comments, etc., and wrote the Thursday update. Later, I video chatted with daughter. By then, around 11:30 p.m., I was starting to feel the effects of not enough sleep the last couple of nights and too much computer time, I suppose. I was having a slight headache, which was more of an eye ache than anything else. Also, my dinner (the leftover pork chops and sauted vegetables) gave me some indigestion in the form of gas pains! I took a couple of antacids and that helped.
I also wondered if the headache was due to the heater that I had running. I usually open the windows when I come home from work and air out the house before I turn the heater on; then it stays on all night and comes on whenever the thermostat kicks in. But, because it was starting to rain when I got home, on Friday, I didn't open the windows to air out the house, and since the heater is gas, I wondered if the carbon monoxide level in the house was going up (I don't have a monitor for that, although, I mentioned to my friend earlier, today, that I should probably get one and set it up). So, in the night, before I went to sleep (at a relatively early time of 12:30 a.m.!) I turned the heater off and bundled up with a sweater over my sweatshirt that I wore to sleep in! With fluffy socks and two quilts and two blankets on my bed, I managed to stay warm during the night!
On Friday, I was grateful for:
- A safe commute, especially on the way home
- More rain
- The fact that the rain held off until I was home
- Chatting with my daughter
- More oranges from my tree
How was your Friday? Do you have a carbon monoxide monitor in your home?
I have a carbon monoxide monitor in the basement, in the box it came in. Not doing a lot of good there is it?
ReplyDeleteI think it is interesting that you have found some notations you remember as well as some you don't. I found one in my Brilliant Ideas notebook form sometime in the nineties. It says "Don't forget Lisa's story" I have no idea what her story was and unfortunately she has passed on so I can't ask if she remembers something funny she said in the 90's.
Anne, maybe, now that you've thought of the monitor, you can put it on your To Do list to bring it up and install it.
DeleteI'm sorry Lisa has passed on and you can no longer remember what her story was.
I think I need to make more detailed notes! LOL. But these are planners that I used to toss at the end of the year - I don't know why I stopped doing that, but I seem to have kept all the planners from 2011 on!
Definitely get a carbon monoxide detector. It was always something I kept putting off until one day I decided I must just do it, then of course managed to order one from my phone without even getting up off the sofa! Mine sits on the top of the kitchen units opposite the boiler and I test it (along with the smoke detectors) on the first of every month.
ReplyDeleteYou've reminded me my mammogram appointment is this week. I hope it's just routine. X
Jules, I will get one, soon. I, too, hope your mammogram will be a routine one and the results won't be anything to worry about.
DeleteIsn't it amazing how some people drive with no thought for others on the road. What on earth are they thinking to switch lanes without even checking if it is cleat. I always wonder how they ever passed the driving test!
ReplyDeleteI am so glad you bundled up and turned off your gas heater when you went to sleep.
Never worth taking a chance with gas.
Sorry to hear about a possible leak in your water heater. Is it common for them to be located outside?
Sandy, seems like just about everyone on the road thinks his or her vehicle is the only vehicle on the road, these days!
DeleteWe are required to have the water heater outside and strapped to the wall due to earthquake safety. This is a new requirement after the 1994 Northridge earthquake. Before that, most of the water heaters were located inside the house, but during the earthquake, a lot of them broke off and the fire danger from the gas flames was great (a lot of our water heaters are heated by gas).
I join the chorus that you should get a carbon monoxide detector. We have a couple. Also, unfortunately, it sounds like a new hot water heater may be in the works for you also. Good luck.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Live and Learn. Yes, I will be looking into the CO detectors, today. The water heater is less than a year old, so, hopefully, if it does need replacing, it will covered by the warranty! Although, the way these warranties are written today, it probably won't be! LOL.
DeleteDo get a carbon monoxide detector, please! I know of at least two people who died of carbon monoxide poisoning, a tragic loss of life. Here in Ontario they are now compulsory and we have one in the basement and one in our bedroom. We really should get one for the upstairs hallway as well, for when the other bedrooms are occupied, just to be on the safe side.
ReplyDeleteBushlady, I will. But I've also remembered that I do have an opening to the attic area, that is kept open, and the attic area (not a finished attic, just the space between the ceiling and the roof) has vents, so, there is some air circulation and venting, at all times, even if the windows have been kept closed. But, I will be getting a monitor, soon.
DeleteI'm so glad you weren't in a car accident and didn't die of carbon monoxide poisoning. We don't have one either but I mean to buy one before hurricane season since we might have to run the generator again (but hopefully not!).
ReplyDeleteI hope the technician was able to come for your water heater.
Thanks, Nathalie, me, too! :) No technician, yet.
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