An Inconvenient Appliance

What I thought was going to be a normal Friday night turned into more than we bargained for. I followed my normal routine after leaving work; go to the bank, go to the liqour store, pick up food.. and come home and relax after a long week.

The normal routine did happen but the relaxing didn't. I walked in the door and Sue is there to meet me. She looks at me and says, "We have a big problem". I say, "What". She tells me that the 'dreaded' water heater has busted.

We live in a bi-level home so my only thought was that I would find things floating around when I walked down to the first level. At first things didn't appear as bad as I thought until I started walking around. It appears that soon after Sue left for work the water heater started leaking or just let loose of all it's fluids. The water continued it's journey into the laundry room/bathroom (which has a tiled floor), a closet next to the water heater, a bedroom, and into the living area. The hardest hit was the bedroom in which the carpet was completly soaked.

It's hard for me to get real angry since sometimes things like this happen and there really isn't anything you can do but get them fixed. So, we figured all we could do was try to soak up some of the water standing on the laundry floor and remove things which were sitting in water.

So I got on the phone with my insurance company. I got a claim number and was told someone would call in an hour to instruct me what would be done next. I got a call from a gentlemen who said he was in the area and would come over in 30 minutes. This was a company that removes water (from carpet, walls, etc.). So, we continued to remove things that were wet and mop up the water in the laundry room and bathroom.

45 minutes later two men showed up with equipment. After evaluating the situation they told us that the carpet was seperating (where the water had sat) and it would need to be replaced. Yes, the entire 1st level of carpet needs to be replaced. If you recall we had new carpet installed in December (upstairs and down). But again, what could we do? All is (supposedly) covered by my insurance company and the claims inspector will be out on Thursday to evaluate the situation.

The 'water removal' guys got most of the water out of the carpet but the downstairs is a mess and very upsetting to me at this point. I can't understand why they can't make a better water heater or a different type of system.. maybe they do.. I don't know but I've heard of this happening alot to homeowners. A woman who worked with me years ago had just moved into a house in Virginia when the same thing happened. They were probably in the house less than a week and weren't even fully unpacked.

I have to say that nothing of value really got damaged. I have many autographed items and luckily I didn't have anything up against a wall (like I did a couple of weeks ago). Most of my signed items are either on the wall or in a plastic storage container. This container was actually in the closet that got soaked but the container protected them. A couple boxes of china got soaked.. and of course a couple of record albums (it always finds the albums). The only autograph it got was a signed Antonio Banderas photo, which was under a dresser in the bedroom (where it should rightfully be).

They had to spray downstairs (so we don't get mildew or mold) and the animals had to stay upstairs all night. The cat was moved into Carter's bedroom. Between listening to the cat scratch at the bedroom door (don't worry, he's declawed) all night and my mind whirling with the events of the night (the water guys didn't leave til' midnight) I must have gotten 3 hours of sleep. Plus, at some point in the night (I think 3am) one of Carter's toys (a fishing game) turned on. I kept hearing this clicking noise and music. I went into the room and found where it was coming from and turned it off. The strange thing is that the game was up on a top shelf of the closet and somewhere where Miles (the cat) could not get to. Just the irony of the night I guess.

Today I got up at 7:45am and I'm now waiting for the water heater guy to get here to install a new water heater.

I guess I'll feel much better when all the humidifiers are gone and the new water heater is in and working... at least we can move some stuff back to where it was until the new carpet is installed. I'll also feel better when it's confirmed that the insurance will cover all of it (maybe not the water heater itself).

Carter's Summer Fun

So it's summertime and what better way to kick things off than throwing a birthday bash! Here are some photos from this glorious event that took place on June 15; not only were we celebrating Carter's birthday, but Dad Nowak's birthday, and Father's Day. We also took in a baseball game that day.

... and here are some other summertime events:

Hanging out with the Smithereens (June 7th)

93 degrees in the shade that day.

An IRONPIGS baseball game.. although Carter preferred the 'bouncy house' over the game; not much going on in a 1-1 game (June 28th).

He also likes the occasional ride down the (middle) of our road.

And when he's not on the swing or monkey bars he's climbing trees (with full parental supervision; of course).

SUMMER MIX revealed

So here is the losing summer mix for 2008! I didn't think it was so bad; but that's just me. There are a couple of songs I found (for the first time) before I put them into the mix. No theme, just songs that make me think of summer. I did throw in about 3 sound bites - it was probably the Paul Lynde soundbite that did me in.

Do You Remember Rock N’ Roll Radio – THE RAMONES
Under My Wheels – ALICE COOPER
Rebel Rouser – THE VENTURES
Beer Nut – THE LUCKSMITHS
I’ve Been Everywhere – JOHNNY CASH
Seaside Bar Song – BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN
Feel So Good – DICK DALE
Better Together – JACK JOHNSON
Ice Cream Man – TOM WAITS
Summer Lady – SANTANA
Someone – RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS
Rubber Biscuit – THE BLUES BROTHERS
Summer Girls – BLUE RODEO

My vacation with the house

That's right folks.. another Fourth of July week.. a week I've been taking off since, well.. every year for the last 10 years. I only took off 3 days this time since I had to space out my last remaining vacation days.

Today I began what I'm sure will be a bi-yearly ritual.. and no, it's not mowing the lawn in the nude. I do that all the time (just kidding)...

Have you guessed? Well, we since we had the deck built in October and the we get full tilt sun beaming down most of the day.... HEY FOLKS.. it's time to Stain the Deck! Ohhh sure, we could have hired someone to do this for us (at $1,000) but I felt I needed a tan... and who doesn't love the smell of stain in the summer? Or the feeling you get after painting a few hundred rail posts? Anyone? Anyone?

But in the end it will all be worth it.. and it's looking better already.. I'll be back out there tomorrow (weather permitting; it's supposed to rain in the evening) enjoying a nice cold ice-tea, the sun on my backside, and the tight grip from a clear vinyl glove on the wood handle of a paint brush as I dip it in the glorious stain.. that beautiful glorious stain!

Go with the clear stain.
The left is BEFORE and the RIGHT is after.

The Weekend

Well folks, it's the weekend. I plan on doing a lot of nothing ... just sitting on the deck sipping some Sam Adams Summer Ale and finishing up my Hemingway book... ohhh, and practicing my Elvis act. The gig at the nursing home doesn't pay that much (actually nothing) but the ole' blue hairs love it when I gyrate real fast.

Tomorrow we will take in our second baseball game of the season at the new IRONPIGS stadium in Allentown. Last game I went to was on Father's Day with my father-in-law and friend of the family, Dave. This will be Carter's first game... let's hope he can sit through it... at least it's only 10 minutes from home.

Hope everyone has a great weekend... and I will soon have photos of the garden and possibly a new video of Carter.

George Carlin Rest In Peace

A comedian that I had always wanted to see live but never got the chance (tickets would literally sell out the day they went on sale for Easton, PA). He was rough around the edges but a great mind and a great comedian!

Stay away from the LAND SHARK

I was at a Memorial Day Concert and saw that someone had brought with them a 12 pack of Land Shark... never heard of the stuff.. and didn't get to have any until today when I decided to give it a try.

I do like some of the higher-priced Anheiser Busch brands (BASS, Stella Artois) but they also have some losers in their lineup... and you can add Land Shark to them..

I kind of consider myself a beer snob but if given the choice of this and a rolling rock, well, I'd take the rolling rock and use this to wash my feet... yes, it's that bad... I like my beers without a bad after-taste.. when I was much younger I didn't care if it was Coors, Michelob, or Bud... but as an adult I go for taste over not passing out on the floor or waking up in a bath-tub.

It's obviously a really bad imitation of Corona... and makes you want to go out and buy some Coronas... Just like the time someone talked me into eating a vege-burger... why would you eat something that leaves a bad-taste in your mouth and makes you want a real burger (or it's just me) ... so, why would you want to drink something that looks like a Corona but takes like a Miller-lite?

I always bring in the summer with some Coronas..

Someone posted on 'chowhound.com': that land-shark will take away sales of Corona ... it's just not possible once word gets out how horrible this beer is! They even have the nerve to charge as much as Corona! ($7.99 a six-pack).. when they should be charging what they charge for rolling rock.. this is not Becks or Bass we're talking about... it's a glorified budweiser..

So, I wash my feet with you!!!