I broke a mirror the other day. That’s 7 years of bad luck. My lawyer thinks he can get me 5.
Six AM and time to rise and shine, well, at least rise. We did our morning ritual and headed to the patio with our trusty watchdog, Scout, and two cups of coffee. BTW, Scout really likes the watch I put on his right leg! It makes a noise like a cat on the hour. We organized the day, which is always fun to do!
Our plumbers showed up right in time at 7:30 Am and began attacking the front flower bed with a vengeance. Today, he had two jobs replacing a castiron cleanout in the front yard with two-way ABS and then placing an eight-foot epoxy pipe replacement where there was some cast iron in the remodel.
The dig begins!
It took him about 90 minutes to get to the source of the problem.
Holy hole, thank goodness the dirt was relatively soft!
He had to get the area cleared so the new plumbing could be installed.
Well, on the bright side, it will not have to rototill the flower bed for a while!
Almost to the bottom, then the new pipes get installed. Now we will have drain access going to the street as well as back into the house. Goodby problems!
The new rises are starting to show!
Now comes the serious problem; we had to call the city inspector. I was expected some old bearded fart with overall and a sharp pencil. Luck was with us today, and we had a beautiful inspector who carefully walked around and gave the “OK.” On that note, the hole was filled, tamped down with an electric temper, and the flower put back as they had never been touched.
Yes, Joe’s handiwork with the flag was saved; the flag was still standing verticle, pointing to the sky!
The Chief Inspector arrives on the scene!
I asked myself, “Why me?” but being old, experienced, and wiley (not to mention UGLY), I had planned for these types of things and put a big bag of money into the “Oh Crap” account for such eventualities.
There is a LOT of truth to this sign!
At 11:15 AM, we took off to Costa Mesa and met with Dr. Dan, and he and Mary discussed some business while we dined at Greenleaf. The conversation went well, and we departed for homemaking a short stop at Michaels to pick up a picture we had framed. In addition to her other talents, Mary is quite an artist.
The old frame kist did not fit the new house!
My bride of three weeks was still not up to par, so I told her to hit the sack. She rested for another few hours, and I puttered around the house, planning to go into the garage attic tomorrow morning if the cool weather holds another day!
The guys finished up the backyard repairs, and I got to see my new sewer line courtesy of their TV system. They apparently like Dr. Mary and me because they put in the epoxy all the way to the street with no additional charges; we got a new sewer, yeah!!
Then I heard the dinner bell meaning, roughly translated, “FEED ME” I was terrified. What can I make that I know she likes. I could feel the thoughts terminating from the bedroom.
Command decision time; flatbread!
I know she like tacos, and I could tell her the flatbread was a taco before I tripped and fell on it. A clever story is needed! Well, I scavenged the frig and found mozzarella, fresh asparagus, and kalamata olives. Then to the garden for fresh tomatoes and basil, I am ready to battle with the oven!
I decided to add a couple of small stuffed peppers to the mix to fill up the plate! I must say, it looked pretty good. I whistled down the hall and yelled, “Over the teeth and through the gums, look out tonsils, here it comes,” which was long for “dinner’s on!”
Colleen suggested a new frame, a good choice!
Mary was quite complimentary about my cooking, saying, “It doesn’t taste half as bad as it looks” and other such platitudes. I did have a glass of wine poured, so she knew it wasn’t breakfast!
My first try at flatbread!
After dinner, I gave her some fresh blackberries with Bailey’s Chocolate Liqueur for dessert. Mary pranced off down the hallway towards her nest, skipping and singing, “He’s my man!” Dang, a great ending to an amazing day!
After cleaning up dinner, Scout The Wonder Dog and I stayed in the family room for a while, watching the new galaxy/star machine display the wonders of the universe on our very own ceiling. At 8:30 PM, I trundled off to bed, leaving Scout sitting in the family room with the doors open so he could go on patrol whenever he wanted to.
