There's been a discussion on an email group in my neighborhood about hiring a contractor to replace windows and sliding glass doors. One neighbor, "Chu", asked for recommendations. A few businesses were suggested, including one that my spouse and I hired years ago for some window repairs. We didn't give this recommendation, though we do consider ( Read more... )

It was time to buy new tires for "Gumbo", our Nissan Xterra 4x4. The old tires were getting worn down, and some of the tread lugs were chipping and cracking. Since we don't drive our own cars a huge amount- Gumbo has rolled only about 5,000 miles in the past 12 months- the old set of tires were ready to replace on the basis of age if not also wear ( Read more... )

Alaska Travelog #11
Asea in Kenai Fjords NP - Sun, 16 Jun 2024, 11am

I've got to hand it to him- our cruise captain MacGyvered a fix for the engine problem that was hobbling the ship. It turned out seaweed had gotten into the coolant intake pipe and made it past the filter. The ship's engines use sea water as coolant. Seaweed got wrapped around ( Read more... )

Alaska Travelog #10
Asea in Resurrection Bay - Sun, 16 Jun 2024, 10am

Things are not exactly... ship shape... on our cruise today. We're idling out in Resurrection Bay about an hour out of Seward because one of the ship's engines is overheating. It seems that the coolant impeller has gotten gummed up with seaweed. The captain is belowdecks in the ( Read more... )

Today we're in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin. We arrived late last night. This morning we slept in a bit then around 10 drove over to visit with my sister at her house a few miles away.


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It's been over 3 months since we used the hot tub in our townhouse complex. A bit of that is because in December we got out of the habit of using it... then the last week of the year we were traveling anyway. Once back in January we looked to use it, though... and it was broken! The heater was busted. It took a long time to get it fixed because ( Read more... )

Monday was a day without a car. Well, so were Saturday and Sunday and part of Friday. I didn't notice us temporarily being a one-car family over the weekend since we did mostly take it easy. On Monday, though, it hit me when I made (solo) plans to go out for lunch, walked down the stairs, and realized... there's no car in the garage ( Read more... )

After the BMW dealership rooked us on a ridiculous price for basic service we definitely weren't going to trust them for the more expensive repairs our car needs. I took it to a trusted local independent BMW specialist on Tuesday.

The situation is that the AC hasn't been working recently. We first noticed that when those 113 days of March weather ( Read more... )

This week I received the replacement parts I ordered for my 10 year old electric shaver. They're a pair of blades (there are two inside the shaver) and a cutting screen.


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Recently I noticed that my electric shaver hasn't been giving me as close of a shave as I expect. It's missing a lot of hairs even when I work it over the same spot on my face or neck a few times. It worked way better when it was new. That means it's time to throw it out and buy another one, right? Wrong! Key parts on electric shavers are ( Read more... )