The Hot Water Tank And Me

The little 4‑gallon hot water tank that served the basement kitchen and 3/4 bath finally gave up. A plumber quoted me $2200 to replace it… for a job that’s basically unplug, unhook, swap, re‑hook. My wallet said “nope,” so DIY it was. This would also give me the change to do some preventative TLC while the tank was out of the way: paint the floor and lay down leftover vinyl.

Ordering a new tank (under $200 delivered!) was the easy part. Twisting the valves off the tank ... not so much. After 15 years, they were welded on by the sheer force of time.

I texted Heather an apology for the delay. She asked if she could try. She’s half my size, but sure, why not? A few minutes later she texts back: “Got them off!” Except… the hoses didn’t fit the new tank, so she put everything back.

I understood none of this. How did she get the valves off, and why didn't they fit the new tank?

It turns out - she had disconnected the hoses from the valves, which was far more logical than me trying to twist the valves themselves off. All I needed were new valves. Ordered two for under $50 from Ferguson, and despite the holiday chaos (including one wrong shipment), everything arrived by Boxing Day.

Meanwhile, Heather had already painted and laid the vinyl like a pro. And she seemed to have zero trouble with any of the hoses. Naturally.

On The Big Day, I shut off and removed the old tank while Heather kept her dog from losing his mind. I got the big hoses on easily, but there was one small hose to the kitchen sink that I just could not get back on. My official excuse was that working blind under a sink amid a maze of pipes is not as easy as in the movies.

After too long wrestling with it, I finally asked, “Heather, can you do this one hose?”

“Sure.”

A few minutes later - done!

I plugged in the tank, she turned the water back on, and slowly it filled. It works - see the green light! And yes, I took a selfie.

A good day for learning new skills - including asking for help - and saving $1750 is never bad! See less

Hosting Local Candidates

Tuesday the 14th our "Postcards 4 Democracy" hosted candidates to fill a statehouse seat. It was a really great chance to meet local candidates, ask questions, see who's ready for prime time. Can you spot me in the photo? Now I know what I look like from the back! 

 West Seattle Blog - January 18, 2025

Simple Cotton T-Shirt and Me

I'm taking at least 1 picture of myself a month, as a way of accepting and enjoying my continuing growth beyond my mental age of about 23. 

 In this image I am thinking, after getting all sweaty at the Y, that I like my simple cotton t-shirt better than my fancy synthetic wicking sleeveless jersey, if only because these sleeves are useful for mopping sweat off my rapidly expanding forehead! 

(Are you ready to photo your monthly progress?)

Stellar's Jay And Me

 I took a *lot* of shots in a variety of locations and poses to get this one that I like best. In reality, this statue of a Stellar's Jay  is about 10 feet tall and way up in the air (whoever crowned it with a Santa's cap put in the work!)

It's worth the time to get just the right image. I avoid the use of software other than cropping and maybe a little color correction. In this case, I experimented with a tool that was new to me and didn't notice the watermark until too late - I had already posted it on facebook. Ah well, that's another lesson learned!

But I like the image - it's positivity, openness and fun!

Who's a good boy?

 Poppy is a good boy!

 Poppy's moms Hannah and Julie having been walking 2 or 3 mornings a week since the early days the Covid. It's been lifechanging, as I gradually improved my capability and learned a lot from our conversations. They are definitely among my best of friends!

Recently they added Poppy to their family, and what a very good boy he is!  

I like dogs, but I do not have the time to give one proper care so I am grateful when friends have a dog - especially one who loves to come on our walks!

You Otter Vote!

There are local elections of all sorts coming up across our country. You otter vote! #gotv

Two Guys, Not Much Hair

I saw this guy at the Burien Kaiser Permanente clinic waiting room. I suppose it can see through the glass because it came up to me when I looked at it, and reacted when I moved. Our selfie amused me for reasons that I imagine are apparent.

This can happen...

 

... if you eat too much beef (...or sling too much bulls**t...)

Actually it's just the statue outside Meet The Butcher, but it's fun

An unexpected day

Gina and her older son

I got a call from the WA/NG recruited SSGT Robert Williams, following up my checking their website the other day. We discussed the possibility that some Afghan refugees may want to join the Guard as a job and to integrate with the community. He seemed positive about this, mentioning that they were working with refugees, and plans to come to the Center on Friday to chat with Rita.

Gina, who I know only from Buy Nothing, had a sewing machine to donate (it needs a power cord/foot pedal combination but I'll work that out). I walked over there to finish up my walking quota (and to stop for coffee at HPCS) only to discover that she'd texted me asking if I'd be willing to drive her to SoHo to get some stuff from the back of her son's pizza shop (formerly a warehouse selling growing supplies, but he's switched businesses.) This was an unexpected turn of events but if was fun going there, having a slice, and picking out stuff. I emphasized that if she needed another trip, to contact me.

Later still, Nancy stopped by with sewing notions and her dog. We had a nice chat and who knows what more community stuff we may do.

All in all, a good day although not exactly as planned!

Met a new friend today

 

My first walk of the morning is rarely a challenge; several days of the week I go with my friends, the other days I go to a coffee shop a mile or two away. 

However this never makes up a full 10k steps so I need a 2nd walk, and I prefer to have a goal!

Today's goal was to see if the Greenbridge Library was open - it was - and to find something new to photograph - and I did!

When I posted this on FB, my friend John Brauker who really likes chess said he liked the queen and asked whether there was a full set around town. Now I must go look!

I Am The Winter Radish King!

I Am The Winter Radish King!

 Sundays after a D-and-D session start a little slow because I was up late, but today we had the additional issue of Daylight Savings Time - spring forward. 

I got a decent walk in - although not the full 10k steps:

• Mail GOTV postcards at USPS Westwodd
• Delivering wireframes to Alice. These are the frames uses to hold signs that frequently fall down and get sad. I never take a frame that is current in use (even "Bob Buys Houses") because c'mon someone is trying to make a living, let's let them live! but any campaign sign a month past the election, or any sign that has weathered to unreadability, is just trash and best moved on. Rather than waste the frames, I give them to my friend who uses them to advertise a community event.
• Coffee at Missing Pieces. Some day I'll meet friends here and boardgame, but in the meantime it's a convenient stop for coffee as I make my Sunday morning rounds
• Fill up backpack with veggies at the family market on 16h
• And home with a backpack full of food and a bag full of flattened aluminum cans. It's a walk!

I unpacked and did a little cleanup. This included pulling the most obviously ready of the radishes and getting a photo. Radishes are a fine winter crop for me since they take little work but keep growing over the winter. 

4PM was gaming with Ed's friends (Sabatour this week, mostly), and then the WSTB book club.

After all that it's time for a little cleanup and then bed. I suppose this is a good day, better than many people are having in Ukraine and elsewhere. I feel quite helpless to do anything other than GOTV and donate a little money here and there - such as here Free Continuing Legal Education: War in Ukraine: A Ukrainian Lawyer's Perspective (On-Demand CLE) (4freecle.blogspot.com)

Blossom Seen

 

Today while walking I saw a lot of things starting with the blossoms. It can still be cold but Spring is coming.

I was tired going up the Highpoint hill, however. The girls are much more fit than I am, which makes since because they exercise more. I need to find a way to up my game.

I am pleased of this self-portrait while we had coffee outside C+P. My hair is coming along nicely!

While doing something else, I saw a FB message from Richard Clem. He's doing a recorded CLE in support of a Ukrainian lawyer he knows from his ham radio hobby. What could I do? I had to add it to 4freeCLE (...it's free and donations to the lawyer's family are encouraged, and they are waiting in Poland with no income ...) .  

War in Ukraine: A Ukrainian Lawyer's Perspective (On-Demand CLE)

I had planned to meet with a classmate from Stagetime University to discuss developing a repository for sharing useful tools for Toastmasters - such as my Vocal Variety PPT - but she didn't show at 6pm. Oh well, maybe next week.

I stopped by Charlets to enquire about feeing his cat since it'll be the 11th tomorrow. It turns out they meant April 11 (!) and it clearly says  so in the email. Oh well!

Community Connector

 Wednesday I had a talk with Ron Hall from BNI who, after hearing my story, suggested the role I was creating for myself in retired was "Community Connector", a term his wife had learned from Molina Health care.

I like the concept: it helps me understand my interests!

Me Shadow

 Next time with bunny ears!

Me And The Bee

 

Waiting in line outside a school to see if my spot as a walk-in at a pop-up booster site will get me in, I saw this delightful painting. It looks like the bee is tickling my ear.

Eventually they told me they would know in 45-60 minutes if I'd get a spot, and since they had my phone number they'd call me. I went home and made sure the phone was powered up; unfortunately I did not check the ringer volume - it was set to zero(!). I don't know how that happened; was this something I did during the moot court? Aroung 5:55 I happened to check my phone and I'd gotten a call at 4:44, possibly the site - oh well, I missed that chance; likely it went to the next person in line who needed it as much or more. I learned a valuable lesson and, since I can do nothing about it, enjoyed a brief moment of regret and moved on.

I'll have to add "check ring tone" to my occasional maintenance. This is done easily by calling from my Google Voice number.

Thinking back: I did not have the sensation that my phone was incorrectly set up because I did get occasional calls. However, this was always when I was looking at my phone doing something else, and notice the incoming call message. There's an interesting message about perception here!

You can call me a tree hugger, I don't mind!

 

I walked, as usual on Wednesdays, to Highland Park Corner Store for coffee and some steps. On the way back, I noticed this tree or shrub with long droopy branches was perfect for a photo!

Like my hat this morning?

I was getting my walk in and reflecting on my reluctance to take pictures of myself, as it requires accepting my aging. This is an issue in itself, but also for my daily habit of photographing life as I live it, seeking out beauty and humor so I have a catalog of the good stuff and develop the habit of looking for it. The trees are in bloom so I decided to try a selfie that combined all three elements: beauty, humor and myself. 

#IVoted Today

I'm happy to vote today in the Washington State primary for Elizabeth Warren.
Now, I'm fine with all the Democratic candidates, but she got the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau going and that is something we all benefit from!

They call me The Rock

I was at the VA Hospital today, with Cyril, to drop of some pizzas for the staff in support of their work, when I got diverted due to losing the gift card. When I got back from the pizza place, Cyril had gone on to talk about stuff with the staff and suggested I wait there and he'd be along soon.

Therefore I went into the Healing Garden to take my daily photo and what struck me was trying to stick my head on top of one of the big rocks stuck there for decor. I had hoped to make a joke about having abs of steel and chest of rock, but the shorter title stuck in my head so here we are.

I am not especially pleased about my wrinkles and sparsening hair, but this is me so get used to it!

Clearing Out Stuff

I'm cleaning house today and getting organized. Let's see what I find.

• A nice thank you note from the John Muir Elementary School (back in 2018; I'll post about it back then)
  
• USPS ID, from back when I tried to save my marriage by getting a regular job. It didn't work. I now see it might have been because of the back hair on my neck, omg why didn't I notice?

I scanned then recycled a lot of paperwork. I rarely refer to it anyway, and it's easier to find things in my carbonite account than to riffle through boxes of paper.